(Mark taught us in the conference room of this Wells Fargo branch in Clarendon. Photo Wells Fargo).

Van Dyke and I went back to school yesterday. We had been scheduled to take it last month, but one of the interminable winter storms swept across Fairfax County and forced cancellation at the range near Fairfax City. This one was scheduled for a rented conference room on the second floor of the Wells Fargo Bank over by the office tower where both of us used to work- much more convenient (for me, not Van Dyke) and the previous iteration was a four-hour night class.

I hate those.

This one started at ten on Saturday morning, and would be over by two. Perfect. It was a nice day, sunny, and people were trying to get in the spirit in t-shirts and shorts but it was too breezy and chilly to really get into the spirit. I found a place for the car at the curb and walked a block to the building and trudged up the stairs to the second floor.

Van Dyke was early and I slid into the seat at the desk next to him.

“Did you hear that Kansas just passed a Constitutional Carry law?” I asked.

“Yep. Mayor Bloomberg put a lot of money into defeating it and he got beat.”

“That makes seven states that have laws saying citizens can pack heat, based on their constitutional rights.”

“Yeah, but this course certifying compliance with Utah Law, taken with your existing permit in Virginia, makes you legal in 36 states. The trifecta with Florida would make it near comprehensive, but that has to come with an actual range session.”

An articulate African American man in tactical black pants and polo shirt with the company logo greeted me. “Hi, I am Mark, and I am your instructor for the course.” He invited me to an inkstand to have my fingerprints takes on an FBI form. I complied, and hit the head to wash the ink off. When the latecomers were processed and all the members of the class had passport-sized photos taken, we started in on the course work material, displayed on a flat screen at the front of the room. He started off eloquently: “Folks, here is what you have to keep in mind. A permit to carry a gun is not a permit to use it. Use of force is the most important decision you will ever make. Trust me.”

He broke down the consequences of a use of force incident in five categories, emphasizing that the best firearms policy is to “ walk away, then run away from situations that could escalate. Always de-escalate if you can, and only when there is no other conceivable option should you respond to force with force. You need to keep it really simple and really clear, because if you ever actually use a weapon it is going to come with these five consequences.” He moused the consequences up, one by one on the screen:

1. Physical Harm. “You may be killed. Running is better if you can.”

2. Criminal. “If you injure or kill someone you are going to be in front of a judge with a hostile prosecutor and a jury that thinks gun owners are nuts.”

3. Civil. “If you get past the criminal justice system, the family of whoever you shoot is going to view you as their retirement plan and the burden of proof is much lower.”

4. Psychological. “A shooting incident is disturbing and stay with you.”

5. Media firestorm. “There is going to be one and social media will attempt to destroy you. It is just the way it works, and you have to understand it.”

“You have to decide if you need the use of a firearm to live, or to protect a loved one. I have three daughters, and if I was in a restaurant and an active shooter situation came up, the first thing I would do would be to get out of there, not engage in a gun battle.

“I am concerned that the nature of criminal activity is changing. A lot of crime used to be committed based on opportunity- you know, a guy has his iPhone 6 on the table in front of him and is talking to someone behind him and a thief will scoop it up and run off. It was there and available. Increasingly, the bad guys are planning aggressive actions. They see a nice watch and decide that it is going to go home with him, not you. Or home invasions with multiple players.”

It was sobering talk, and good. Mark also talked about other options short of deadly force, including pepper spray, knives and flashlights that can be used in a variety of creative defensive means.

“Here is the deal.” He paced off 21 feet and got one us to stand facing him. “It takes three seconds for a guy to cover that distance. Your brain takes a half second to a second-and-a-have to process what you are seeing. The assailant knows what he is going to do. You don’t.”

Mark peppered the structured coursework with observations. My notes have some of them: “Open carry people are kind of nuts, unless they live in places where a shotgun in the rack in the truck is not controversial and considered a social norm. Wearing a gun into a Starbucks in Fairfax is not going to make you any friends and it will scare people. Don’t scare people.”

“A concealed carry permit does not make you a deputy law enforcement officer. Ever.”

“Don’t even think about taking a weapon into the District of Columbia. Ever.”

“You can never carry too much ammunition. Ever.”

In that context, Mark commented that he carries his defense weapon with a round in the chamber. Consequently, his mantra is “Don’t muzzle yourself,” which is to say never, ever, point a gun at someone unless you intend to use it. I see people at the range all the time that put parts of their bodies in front of the muzzle of the gun, drawing the weapon, or taking their shooting stance. Looking at how some people holster their weapons, they are asking to blow off some really important bits of anatomy.

And about other alternatives: running is not unmanly, and there are many options for response besides pulling a gun. “For example, here are the rules for pepper spray, which is legal even in the District, though you are supposed to register with the police, for some reason.” He picked up a box from the table at the front of the room and took out a little cylinder. “Shake, Shout, Spray, Shuffle.”

He paused to look at us. “Those are the steps that help you to remember to Shake the container to ensure the active mixture and propellant are mixed; Shout means yelling something clear. “Stop!” or “No!” These are unambiguous terms to see if you can stop the event. If you have to use it, Spray to the Eyes, which will render the attacker unable to see for some minutes so you can get away; Shuffle refers to the fact that the attacker won’t be able to see but will know the last known place you were. Don’t be there. He is going to be very irritated with you.”

He demonstrated evasion by sidling sideways across the room in a tactical crouch. “And above all, avoid the cloud that will contaminate you.”

We then went through the laws of Virginia and Utah. Defense of property does not permit deadly force, for example. You can carry a weapon in a bar in this state but you can’t drink. You would be justified in using deadly force in an incident of carjacking, for example, but definitely not if you saw someone breaking into your car from a motel balcony. The best policy about use of a firearm is to not use one. If you get too emotional to tell the difference, maybe you shouldn’t be carrying one.

Mark explained some of the other training courses available from his company, mostly marksmanship and safety courses, and looked at his watch. I have been talking for more than four hours. That is it, folks. Questions or comments, I will either be here or at the Range. I also have some items you might be interested in on the table up here. You can download the course materials at this link,” he said, and displayed the link on the screen.

Class done and papers stamped, I bought a little container of peper spray for $25 bucks. I might have to go back to the District one of these days.

Copyright 2015 Vic Socotra

www.vicsocotra.com

Twitter: @jayare303