9781422273531

DAVID WILSON

MASON CREST PH I L ADELPH I A | MI AMI

Mason Crest PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2022 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-4457-9 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4222-4462-3 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7353-1 Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress

Developed and Produced by Print Matters Productions, Inc. Cover and Interior Design by Torque Advertising + Design

Publisher’s Note: Websites listed in this book were active at the time of publication. The publisher is not responsible for websites that have changed their address or discontinued operation since the date of publication. The publisher reviews and updates the websites each time the book is reprinted.

QR CODES AND LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY CONTENT You may gain access to certain third-party content (“Third-Party Sites”) by scanning and using the QR Codes that appear in this publication (the “QR Codes”). We do not operate or control in any respect any information, products, or services on such Third-Party Sites linked to by us via the QR Codes included in this publication, and we assume no responsibility for any materials you may access using the QR Codes. Your use of the QR Codes may be subject to terms, limitations, or restrictions set forth in the applicable terms of use or otherwise established by the owners of the Third-Party Sites. Our linking to such Third-Party Sites via the QR Codes does not imply an endorsement or sponsorship of such Third-Party Sites or the information, products, or services offered on or through the Third-Party Sites, nor does it imply an endorsement or sponsorship of this publication by the owners of such Third-Party Sites.

Foreword .................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1: Crime . ................................................................... 11 Chapter 2: Suicide .................................................................. 25 Chapter 3: Accidental Shootings .......................................... 41 Chapter 4: Carrying and Concealing ................................... 57 Chapter 5: Self-Defense ......................................................... 73 Series Glossary of Key Terms ................................................. 88 Further Reading & Internet Resources ................................. 92 Index . ........................................................................................ 94 Author’s Biography ................................................................. 96 Credits . ..................................................................................... 96 K E Y I C O N S T O L O O K F O R Words to Understand: These words, with their easy-to-understand definitions, will increase readers’ understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

It was an honor to be asked to write the foreword for the Gun Country series. Since I’m not a celebrity, and it is unlikely you have ever heard of me, I’d like to tell you a bit about my background and experience as it applies to guns. I am a security, emergency management, and business continuity consultant helping public and private sector organizations to be better prepared to withstand disasters. I help them draft plans, provide training, and conduct exercises to improve their organizations’ preparedness posture. In short, I coach organizations on how to ready their people to handle crises. My career began as a Marine infantryman, armorer, and counterintelligence specialist. I then became a police officer, serving as a SWAT officer, firearms instructor, hostage negotiator, and neighborhood team leader. I’ve worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as an intelligence officer and protective security advisor. I’ve been the chief instructor at a private shooting club. Mixed in there were a few years as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. My knowledge of guns is fairly extensive. I know quite a bit about numerous makes and models of guns, including rifles, pistols, and shotguns. I’ve fired many types and styles of guns from .22 caliber pistols (very small) to 155-millimeter howitzers (so big they need to be towed by a truck). I have a great deal of experience in “use of force,” which is the legal term for the appropriate times and conditions when different types of force can be used by civilians, the military, and law enforcement. I’ve seen close-up what guns can do to a human body. But I am getting ahead of myself. I am what some would consider a late bloomer when it comes to shooting and guns. My

6

shooting experience started when I was eighteen at U.S. Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina. Prior to that, the only guns I knew were toys and BB guns. You may have heard it is important to make a good first impression; well, the rifle ranges of Parris Island certainly made a good first impression on me. Boot camp takes about three months. The first month was filled with screaming drill instructors, summer humidity and heat, and what seemed like endless push-ups. Very disorienting and uncomfortable. As the second month of boot camp began, our company marched out to the rifle ranges and the change in atmosphere was remarkable. We began our march at the industrial Mainside part of the base and ended at the pastoral grounds of the ranges. Where Mainside was mostly paved and sandy, the ranges had huge fields of green grass. Where Mainside had quite a bit of traffic and other mechanical noise from steam plants and the like, the ranges were quiet with the sound of birds and the wind blowing through the trees punctuated by the pleasant sound of the crack of rifle fire as Marines practiced their craft. The difference was amazing. That initial experience set a high standard for the rest of my life. The training I received there was exceptional; few would argue the Marines create excellent shooters. Over the next fifteen years I would experience a wide variety of firearms as I became an expert in their operation and maintenance and learned how to employ them to inflict the least damage while accomplishing a mission or in the line of duty. I would not consider myself a “gun nut” or even an enthusiast. I don’t own very many. I don’t get emotional when I’m around them. I look at them as tools, much like a carpenter looks at a hammer. I’m comfortable around them because I know what they can and cannot do. My position on guns is that of a pragmatic advocate. The appropriate gun in the hands of a well-trained person can result

7

in the pursuit of a lifelong and engaging sport. It can also be a potent solution to a desperate problem and a powerful deterrent. I believe guns alone are not dangerous. As with many controversial topics, the disagreements often arise from a lack of knowledge and experience coupled with our natural tendency to generalize and oversimplify complex problems. We are better served when we gather information from varied sources and break down the problems into manageable issues. I’m not asking you to agree with me. Based on what I know and what I’ve done, this is how I feel. I will continue to read thoughtful material and talk to people who make a conscientious effort to understand the issues. That’s one of the reasons I appreciate this series as it does a very good job exploring some of the most contentious issues such as assault weapons, the gun economy, and Second Amendment rights. Clients frequently ask me to help them address the threat of an active assailant, commonly referred to as an “active shooter.” The active shooter scenario encompasses so many of the issues surrounding guns. Mental health, gun ownership, concealed carry, and law enforcement response are all part of the conversation although some of my clients seem unaware of the connections. I wish I’d been able to refer them to the Gun Country series to fill some of their knowledge gaps. By reading this foreword and having the series in front of you, you are already ahead of the game. You are on your way to forming your own thoughtful opinion on the topic of guns and the surrounding issues. I admire the good work author David Wilson has done presenting a complicated topic in a fair and straightforward manner. I encourage you to take the time to carefully consume this series regardless of your current position on the topic. Do the activities, follow the video links, and answer the questions at the end of the chapters. Keep an open mind and turn up your critical

Handguns

8

thinking. Ask yourself difficult questions and then actively pursue the answers. By doing these small additional tasks, you will come away with a very good base of knowledge on a complicated subject. If you still have questions, use the information and knowledge from the Gun Country series to drive further research. If you have not already done so, consider visiting a gun show, take a marksmanship class and shoot a pistol if you never have, and talk with law enforcement to gain their perspective. You should also consider talking with emergency room doctors and nurses, teachers, and school administrators for their perspectives as well. To think is not to know. To experience is to know. Use this series as the basis for your experience.

Jeff Murray, MA ASIS Certified Protection Professional Certified Firearms Instructor

Foreword

9

No other firearm in the nation is responsible for as many deaths and injuries as the handgun.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

bias: Prejudice in favor of a certain viewpoint or outcome. legal cynicism: Extreme distrust in social justice institutions such as the police. longitudinal: Long-term and/or ongoing. persistent: Ongoing and continuous; difficult to stop or prevent.

10

Crime

When people say that the United States has a gun violence problem, they often (whether they know it or not) mean that it has a handgun violence problem. No other firearm in the nation is responsible for as many deaths and injuries as the handgun. The United States has nine times as many handgun murders as murders from every other type of gun combined, and eight times as many violent crimes are committed with handguns than with every other type of gun combined. Their small size makes them convenient for any type of activity requiring lethal force or merely the threat of lethal force.

Handguns and Gangs: Your Gun Is “Your Police”

The Marshall Project, a nonprofit organization seeking to cover issues in the American criminal justice system, interviewed members of a Chicago-based gang, the Gangster Disciples, in 2018. “In Chicago,” one of the members said, “[people] want a gun before a car. Your gun, that’s your police. I have a problem,

11

I’ll call my gun instead of the police.” What is true in Chicago, where the murder rate has been higher than in active war zones, is true in many other major cities where gangs are a persistent and violent problem. Criminal psychologists note that the idea of “your police” is a common one in areas where social justice institutions, most often the police themselves, fail or disappoint everyday people, calling it “ legal cynicism .” People who are upset about police inaction or ineffectiveness may turn to do-it-yourself justice, requiring only a handgun to do what they perceive the authorities are unable to do. Criminal gangs, who by definition do not associate with police, carry out their own justice and satisfy their own grudges every day on the streets of the United States. Their preferred weapon, by a significant margin, is a handgun. The same members of the Gangster Disciples referenced selling handguns, including a 10 mm handgun so powerful that members of the FBI stopped using it in the 1980s, and a Ruger pistol that holds eighteen rounds. The firepower of the Disciples, along with other Chicago street gangs, is reflected by the brutal statistics of the city’s crime rate: while young black men account for just 4 percent of the total population, they represent more than half of the city’s murder victims. Five neighborhoods in Chicago’s infamous South Side combine to have a higher death rate for young men than the American soldiers deployed to fight the war in Afghanistan. Chicago police seize three times as many firearms as their counterparts in New York or Los Angeles, while 95 percent of gang-related homicides use a gun as the murder weapon. Gangs are best known for their crimes and body counts in these big cities, but they are not just found in the biggest cities—they can be found throughout the country, and no state is immune from their criminal activities.

Handguns

12

While young black men account for just 4 percent of the total population, they represent more than half of Chicago’s murder victims.

Wherever gangs can be found, handguns will soon follow. A survey of gang members revealed that handguns were the weapon of choice for over three-quarters of all members, with assault rifles in a very distant second place. Gangs prize handguns because they are compact, concealable, and inexpensive. While they cannot do the raw damage of a high- powered rifle and are not nearly as accurate, they’re an excellent way to get attention, respect, or power in the span of an instant. Gang members are vastly more violent than non-gang members, and they’re growing more violent over time, and gang conflicts are becoming increasingly fatal encounters.

Chapter 1: Crime

13

A survey of gang members revealed that handguns were the weapon of choice for over three-quarters of all members.

A study in 1975 found that just half of all gang members owned a gun. By comparison, the Gangster Disciples members interviewed in 2018 reported owning as many as a dozen guns each, mostly handguns. The Disciples’ respect for their arsenal indicates how handguns aren’t just tools for violent crime, they’re also status symbols. The biggest, most powerful, or most exotic handguns all indicate that the owner is a person to be feared and respected. Handguns are so prevalent in gang life that it’s quite rare to find a member who doesn’t own one. The longitudinal Rochester Youth Development Study found that just 7 percent of teenagers who were members of a gang did not own a handgun.

Handguns

14