To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Guns in SAR
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2003 11:18:56 -0400
As most of you know, the East Coast is the birth place of gun control
laws. In the State of Maryland, the ONLY persons on a SAR mission who
(legally) carries a weapon are law enforcement personnel. Liability is
"primary" factor which limits the authorization to use and carry
firearms in this Country. Granting approval for any specialty unit to
carry firearms requires Standards upon Standards, upon Standards.
A shotgun may be the best protection for home use, but I believe the
topic was directed for MSAR use. While performing our tasks in the
field our hands are busy enough already. On top of what is required for
our horses, our Team members must carry the same turn out gear required
of a NASAR, SARTech-II (I do not have someplace to carry a big bulky
firearm). Nowadays, if some kind of shoulder weapon is carried by law
enforcement personnel it is not a shotgun! The shoulder weapons that
are carried by law enforcement personnel are on shoulder slings and held
by hand, at all times.
Should handguns be approved for carry by MSAR personnel, the standards
should similar in nature to that of law enforcement personnel. Meaning,
a sidearm should be carried in a secuirty-plus type of holster that is
firmly fastened to a belt or web gear (not tucked away in the bottom of
a gear bag), with annual or semi annual qualifications as a strict
requirement. Safety must be a paramount issue! With some MSAR riders
refusing to wear helmets in the field, I do become concerned about the
level of safety awareness of some people in general.
I fully agree that times are changing. There are people in this Country
who enjoy killing public servants. When performing your mission on a
search, does the public know you are simply a volunteer of the
requesting agency? After 9-11 our mission has changed greatly. It is
a known fact that law enforcement personnel are only a reactive resource
and will not always be there to protect, duck tape is not the solution!
Search Team members in our area were required to attend security
briefing, prior to receiving our 2003 ID cards. This briefing was based
upon the recommends of the Department of Homeland Security (does that
tell you something). In this area, the government considers SAR
personnel as first responder resource (Yes folks, times have changed).
I was a federal law enforcement officer for 25 years and was required to
carry a concealed handgun though out the United States. I retired last
year and do not miss carrying that extra 3.7 pounds of extra weight
everyday. Personally, I believe that authorizing "trained" law biding
citizens to carry side arms is something that is needed in this
Country. If a person carries a sidearm, then they need to be well
trained in both the safety and proficiency of the weapon. After all,
the use of firearms is agreed upon just as much as politics and religion.
The job we do as a MSAR professional can be dangerous and we could get
killed in the line of duty. Until a volunteer MSAR team is authorized
and has established standards for firearms carry, then I believe this
topic should be set aside for fireside chats.
The views that I expressed are strictly mine and do not represent the
views of my MSAR Team or other SAR organizations.
Tomi` Finkle (TROTSAR-2)
Training Officer
TROT Search & Rescue Mount Unit