Accidental Display Of Weapon.

By Don Myers
From Concealed Carry Magazine, July 2006

Accidentally exposing your concealed handgun can leave you wishing for less excitement in your life.
Suppose you had just come from Amarillo, Texas and were thirsty from the six hour drive to Fort Worth. So you stop at a convenience store in one of the many little, suburban towns. As you exit your car, you notice that your coat has ridden up, exposing the handle of your handgun that is in an inside-the-waistband holster. You quickly cover it and go in and purchase a soft drink and a pack of gum. Shortly after resuming your trip, you notice a police car behind you with flashing lights. You pull over, but the police officer just sits in his squad car until another police car arrives. Then both police officers exit and yell for you to get out of your car. As you exit, you see that both of them have their pistols drawn and pointed at you as they scream for you to put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees. You comply, as they continue screaming to lie face down on the pavement. You tell them that you need to use your hands to brace yourself as you lie down, but they scream even louder to lie face down. Afraid that you are going to hurt yourself by smashing your face on the pavement, you tell them twice more that you need to use your hands to break your fall. Each plea to use your hands puts the cops in a greater rage, screaming to lie face down. Finally, you manage to get your face on the pavement, where you are immediately handcuffed and asked, "Do you have a concealed handgun license?" You answer, "Yes." At this point, under Texas penal code section 42.01, the incident should have been over if the officers had asked if you had intentionally displayed your weapon. Of course, you would have said that it was accidentally displayed for only a few seconds, but instead of your being released, you are hauled off to jail and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Even though the district attorney refuses to prosecute and the Texas Department of Public Safety refuses to honor the city's request to have your CHL revoked, your nightmare is not over. The police drop the original charges, but give you a new charge of a moving violation, even though you were outside your car when this mythical violation occurred. A year later, at the court house just before you are to go before the judge, you take a settlement by signing a release of liability, saying you will not sue the city if they drop the charge of the moving violation.

You say that this nightmare is too preposterous to be true. You are wrong. It actually happened to Mark [last name withheld at his request]. This injustice was written about by Mark's attorney in the Texas State Rifle Association's Sportsman magazine. I called Mark to confirm this unbelievable miscarriage of justice. I found him to be a gentle and unassuming young man, which added to my anger at how he was treated. Mark was very nervous talking about this traumatizing event for fear of angering the authorities. It goes without saying that we, who carry concealed handguns, open ourselves to trouble by accidentally displaying our weapons.

Some methods of carry are more susceptible to being seen accidentally than others. A holster worn on the hip provides the fastest presentation of the weapon when drawing for a deadly force encounter. However, it is the most easily exposed when your coat or vest is blown open or dragged open as you brush up against something.

I was attending a funeral on a cold and very windy day. I carried a .40 caliber Glock on my hip, covered by my suit. I had gained weight and could not button the coat with the added bulk of the pistol. However, I would not buy a new suit because I was determined to lose the weight. Departing from my car, I began putting on my overcoat as I walked toward the grave site, while being buffeted by the strong and gusty north wind. After getting my arms into the sleeves of the overcoat, I stretched out my arms to pull the coat over my shoulders. While I was in the crucifix position, the wind suddenly burst open both sides of my suit coat, completely revealing my entire torso with its attached weapon. My heart had a runaway, as if I had revealed my private parts to Sarah Brady. Fortunately, everyone was walking in the same direction, so, those in front of me had their backs to me, while those mourners behind me could not see the exposed pistol because of my billowing overcoat. I was lucky to receive a free lesson in concealment management without the unpleasant consequences.

Jerry Worley had a similar experience. However, his accidentally revealed pistol was seen by several people. While filling his gas tank, Jerry was wearing a denim jacket covering the Makarov on his hip. A strong, gusty wind hit him, unexpectedly sending his jacket fluttering like a flag over a nudist camp where nobody looks at the flag, but everyone looks at what is totally exposed beneath it. His weapon drew the attention of at least three other people. As Jerry wildly grabbed his jacket, like Marilyn Monroe's famous picture of her unsuccessfully holding down her wind blown skirt, his viewers made no reaction other than to quickly turn their eyes away, even though they clearly saw Jerry's means of protection. Apparently, they assumed that he was a member of law enforcement or a person whom they had better leave alone.

Wearing a hip holster requires great care when reaching for something, especially while reaching up to take something off of a top shelf. I attend a church where we often raise our hands while singing worship songs. I usually only raise my left hand for fear of revealing what is on my right hip. Speaking of church, sometimes folks give me a hug. The one time that I know that someone must have felt my pistol, I suspect that they thought it was a cell phone. I usually avoid their having a chance to feel it by keeping my elbow pressed against the pistol.

One friend related what some might think is a really dumb way to expose one's concealed handgun. Actually, for those who carry all the time, it is easy to forget that you have a pistol strapped to your side. My friend was wearing a leather jacket covering his 9mm as he entered a bar. That was his first no-no because in Texas, you cannot legally carry in a bar as a customer. However, as I said, he forgot that he was armed. Sitting down on a bar stool, he took off his leather jacket, neatly folded it, and laid it on a nearby chair. The man sitting next to him asked one of the stupidest questions ever, "Is that a gun?"

Embarrassed, Jerry quickly put his jacket back on and said, "I'll be right back!" He went out to his car, put the handgun in the trunk, and returned without further problems. During my concealed handgun licensing classes, I recommend that in a case such as Jerry's or any time you see that your handgun has been discovered, you should calmly leave the establishment to reduce your chance of having to explain why you are armed.

One of the ways that your hip carried pistol can result in exposure is having to go to the restroom to sit on the commode. When you take your coat off, you are exposed to the ubiquitous spaces between the door and the wall. Leaving your pistol in the holster while your pants are on the floor further exposes you to detection from the stall next to you. In this case, I hang the coat on the hook and put my pistol in the coat. It is best to use the stall that has a wall on one side to reduce your chances of being discovered by curious eyes. (Yes, I know the image that is conjured up in some people's minds. Remember, this is a family magazine.)

Last year, an air marshal left her pistol on a shelf in the restroom of Cleveland's Hopkins airport. I know that the Monday morning quarterbacks don't understand how that could happen. As I said about the bar situation above, your carry weapon becomes such a part of you, that after you have carried for a few years, you often don't think about it, even though you may unconsciously hold your elbow close on windy days to hold your jacket in place. Even if you happen to be unarmed, you still habitually do the little things that keep a gun concealed. I can see how she left it there if her mind were on something else. Being sympathetic with her plight is one thing, but sympathy does not prevent consequences. Unlike my friend's goof in the bar, this lady got in serious trouble after a passenger reported finding the pistol to authorities.

The inside-the-waistband holster is probably a better choice for concealment if you are wearing it on your hip, since a glimpse of it only reveals a handle, which could easily be thought to be a cell phone. The IWB carry may be better for concealment, but it's no guarantee of not being detected. Mark, who I talked about above, was carrying his gun IWB when he was subsequently thrown in jail.

Dusty related another time where the "print" of his gun was noticed. He had his Para Ordinance .45 under a T-shirt with an open, button-down shirt giving further concealment. The wind blew his shirt open, exposing the bulge of the thick, twelve-shot .45. A man asked what he had under his shirt. Dusty replied, "It's an adrenalin pump." That answer satisfied the onlooker and made me jealous that I can't think that fast.

Another I.D.P.A. shooter, Steve Moses, related a horror story about his friend, Ed [not his real name] who was on a date at Denny's. (I guess it was a cheap date.) Ed was carrying his Les Baer .45 in a Yaqui Slide holster, which has no retention strap, and the design exposes most of the barrel. Of course, this rig was covered by a coat. As Ed sat down, the barrel of his pistol hit the arm rest of his chair, popping the gun out of its holster, sending the .45 clattering to the floor. This scene is the stuff of nightmares. The only thing that could have made it worse would have been for Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton to have been dining there and have the wayward pistol come to rest at their feet. But Ed has to be the luckiest guy in the world, because in spite of the noise of the 1911's hitting the floor, no one noticed except his date who already knew that he was packing.

Maybe the only lesson that we can glean from this incident is that there is no end to the ways that we armed citizens can accidentally get in trouble with the general public, but we can learn from these examples to reduce our chances of becoming victims of our own carelessness. We need to be armed all of the time, but with added vigilance, we can protect ourselves and our loved ones while remaining undetected.

Don Myers is a professional pilot, a Vietnam era army captain, an author, a certified concealed handgun license instructor for the state of Texas, and most importantly of all, a proud grandfather.