Concealed Carry Tips – Avoiding the Stupid

John Farnam is one of the most respected firearms instructors who still teaches around the United States. He’s in his seventies, so a serious student would do well to attend one of his classes before he retires. Defensive Training International is his business name, and you can easily find it on the internet. John has a famous quote, or perhaps code of conduct, “Don’t do stupid things with stupid people.” In my professional life, I am sometimes called upon to testify in court about a certain aspect of a case to clarify a confusing issue to the jury. In this month’s article, I will share some of the violations of John’s code I’ve witnessed in court. The first case I worked in back in the ’90s involved a teen playing with a Smith & Wesson Model 37 when he accidentally discharged it. He killed his sister. He was curious about guns, untrained and cocked a revolver in his living room while pressing the trigger. He was also distracted from the TV. When his sister walked in between him and the television, the hammer fell, releasing the gun. The judge found the teen innocent of manslaughter based primarily on my testimony showing how this could and likely did happen. I did not agree with the verdict. In the jurisdiction where it happened, “negligence’ was an element of manslaughter. The attorney must’ve made a great argument. I wasn’t hired by the defense to prove guilt or innocence. Instead, I was hired to explain how this could have happened. I hope that the young man will become a valuable member of society. In another early case, I worked to determine who fired the fatal shot in a drive by shooting between rival gangs. It was a murder, and the victim died after being shot in back with a 9mm round. The defendant was not the shooter but the driver of a car. The “felony murder rule” allows him to be charged and tried for murder. It seemed like an easy win for the prosecution as the weapon used was a 9mm Beretta. The crime lab report on the 9mm bullet stated that it was a 90 grain full-metal jacketed 9mm. After reading my report and confirming that the bullet was likely fired by a.380 handgun, the prosecution dropped the “slam dunk” case. A Walther PPK 9mm Kurz (.380 auto), hidden under some bushes, was found near the crime scene. It turned out that the murder weapon was a Walther PPK in 9mm Kurz (.380 auto) and it wasn’t fired by the car, but rather from a friend on the street. Case dismissed. In this case, the offender was shot and wounded by the victim. The shooting victim committed a felony against the defendant, but he was convicted of first degree assault despite the fact that the defendant had been the victim. I was asked to reconstruct the shooting, as there were several rounds fired that caused bullets to hit the ground, cars nearby, and the robber. He called the other party out of the parking lot after he found him at a bar. The stupid part of the equation was not his gunfire but his level sobriety. He was sh*t-faced and drunk. Over the years, I’ve learned that juries dislike drunks with guns. This case involved a person who was involved in the death of one of four people, all of whom were attacking him with fists or shoes. The defendant was on his knees, being beaten, and even kicked in the head, at the time of the shooting. He sat with investigators, wanted to cooperate with police but did not have an attorney. During the interview, he was asked if he took any drugs. He replied no. The lab report revealed that a small amount cocaine was in his system because he went to the hospital for a check-up after the beating. Blood was drawn and a lab report was generated. The police gambled to see if they can get “another weapon off the streets” by convicting defendant. The key evidence in the prosecution was the lie he told to the police. The advice from this part of the world is to never conduct an interview with investigating police officers without an attorney present. After a full trial, which ended in a hung verdict and a second prosecution of the defendant, he pleaded guilty to an offense that was not a serious one. He then moved on with his life. Editor’s Note: The original version of this article appeared in the 2023 EDC special issue of Gun Digest the Magazine. Enhance your shooting precision with 62 MOA targets, perfect for handguns and rifles. Crafted in collaboration with Storm Tactical for accuracy and versatility.Subscribe to the Gun Digest email newsletter and get your downloadable target pack sent straight to your inbox. Stay up to date with the latest information on firearms.