Recently, a buddy of mine and I were talking all things concealed carry, and the subject of backup guns became a topic of conversation. Neither of us are law enforcement, and in his opinion, civilians don’t have a pressing need for backup weapons. His argument was that it’s the police officer’s job to engage and pursue criminals, and they have a much higher probability of needing a backup carry gun in case things go south.
This outlook was a bit perplexing to me since I always believed that, as a concealed carrier, having a backup weapon was as natural and necessary as breathing air. On the surface, he was correct that cops have a much higher probability of getting into a gunfight than civilians, but if that was his reasoning, why did he carry a concealed weapon at all?
While the police officer might have higher odds of getting into a gunfight initially, I would submit that once a fight has been initiated, the odds would level out as to whether a backup weapon is needed more by either a civilian or cop. In fact, I would posit that the civilian would have an even greater need for a backup weapon than the officer.
By Personal Defense World
