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I love this forum, because there is masterful insight on the part of this CHL/LTC community. I totally agree that any armed intervention on my part would not happen until I am absolutely sure that the guy with the gun is actually the bad guy and not the defender. I've read too many stories about the guy with the gun was actually the good one in the confrontation.

txglock21 wrote:There are too many "what-if" situations to cover everything, so I will keep it short and sweet: I got my CHL/LTC to protect myself and my family. If my family is in danger, then yes, I'm going to anything and everything to protect them. Friends or people I don't know, unless I'm directly involved like I'm inside a 7-11 while being held up, then sorry, I'm not a hero or batman. I will be the best witness I can from a safe place. YMMV

I totally agree with your point of view. I would not have been that LTC guy who intervened in San Antonio; however, I don't have any family nearby, so all I have in this world are my best friends whom I love dearly, who would have no protection in a violent encounter. Like you, I am not a hero or Batman, either, but I probably would do exactly as you say...be the best witness I could be.

Yesterday’s shooting in the Rolling Oaks Mall in San Antonio got me thinking. In that situation, two armed bad guys entered Kay’s Jewelry store to rob it. The store was posted with 30.06/30.07 signs, which forbids legally licensed customers to enter with a concealed or open carry handgun. After witnessing an unarmed Good Samaritan who intervened and was shot dead, a licensed civilian intervened, shooting one of the bad guys, according to news reports. This story started this line of thinking on my part:

My apartment complex leasing office/community room is posted with 30.06/30.07 signs, but carrying anywhere else outside that building IS allowed under my signed lease. The manager has told me that she has never even touched a gun, but is concerned that an angry tenant being evicted may react violently, an example she mentioned to me. She also has concerns that if an armed person gets in an argument in the community room with another person, and starts shooting, the business could be held liable if they didn’t have the signs posted. She told me that local police recommended the signs to protect the business. Suggesting to her that bad people with guns do not care about any signs did not change her point of view.

I walk outside several times daily when the weather is good, either in the street, or on the walking trail around the facility. I do this mainly for necessary exercise, but also am on alert for any trouble. I carry concealed, not open carry, everywhere on the premises, except in the posted building.

My quandry is this: If I’m walking near the building in question, and I hear gunfire within, I’m likely to stay outside and observe through a window, because I might not risk my life to protect the manager if she is being attacked. My logic is that I might be charged with trespassing if I intervene while carrying concealed, regardless of what is happening indoors. Is my thinking flawed?

Another line of thinking concerns the community room itself. There are bingo games, luncheons, etc., that take place in the building. Because of the posted signs and my lease, I no longer participate in these events. However, if I heard gunfire inside, and knew that my best friends were inside, I would probably attempt to protect them, regardless of the signs, after I call 9-1-1. I know the dispatcher would probably tell me not to go inside, but to wait on the police to come, but I am not willing to watch my friends get shot.

I am not aware of any other incidents that tell us what happens to the licensed gun owner who intervenes by going in a posted business. What are your thoughts? Would you intervene if your friends or family were not in danger, but others were?