I welcome my new brother badge holder. For too long I have been the lone voice of those brave souls who carry CCW shields and patrol the street every day.
I carry FIVE CCW BADGES>
Badge #1 is kept in the center of my Tri-Fold Wallet, so that when I display it, it is accented by my CCW permit on the left, and my Players Club Gold Card on the right (which entitles me to great discounts on food, entertainment, and accomodations throughout the world, baby).
Badge #2 is kept clipped to my belt on my right hip in front of my main carry piece, A Ruger Super Redhawk chambered in .480 Ruger with it's 3-9X50 scope.
Badge #3 is proudly displayed on my left hip in front of my backup piece, my trusty .500 Smith&Wesson.
Badge #4 is glued to the holster on my right ankle, where you will find my trusty, though under-powered, Cold Combat Commander.
Badge #5 is likewise attached to the holster on my left ankle, where you will find my GUN-OF-LAST-RESORT. a mere Colt Python chambered for the impotent .357 Magnum cartridge.
(I know what you are thinking. 'Here is a well-armed man. But how does he conceal all of those?' It is simple. I have a photographers vest to conver the waist-guns. Since I am 5'8" tall and 340 impressively molded pounds, I have the vests made special. The ankle guns are covered by cargo pants in the summer, or thick woolen hunting socks when I wear shorts. When loungin on the beach, I use a mumu to cover it all. Ammunition is, of course, carried in two fanny packs. One pack on the fanny. Another above the groin. When I venture into bad parts of town, I pull extra ammo behind me in a red wagon.)
I carry the badge(s) because i feel the decent people of this community have a right to know who is protecting them. The badge allows me to do this legally. You see, it is illegal to brandish a concealed weapon, but not illegal to show a CCW badge. CASE IN POINT....... I was at a quickie mart the other day paying for some canned chili and a mountain dew when four young holligans entered the store. As the clerk sacked my light snack, I pulled Badge #1 and showed it to him. When his worried eyes caught mine, I gave him a nod. A small nod to be sure, but one weighted with meaning. "I'll be in the parking lot," I told him, "Until this situation is resolved." I then exited the store and stood by my 77 Thunderbird eating cold chili out of the can until the street gang had departed. Heaven knows what those punks might had done had it not been for the presence of a Gold-Shielded-CCWer.
But I am only one man! Yes, a highly trained and well armed man who has studied six martial arts both in-person and through videos. But still I am just one man. What if there had been sixteen punks instead of four?
The answer is simple. I would have gone outside and found three more trusty citizens (my keen eye allows me to know who is truly trustworthy) and deputized them all as emergency Gold-Shield-CCWers. Happily, I would have had guns and badges for them all. Then we all would have stood in that parking lot ready to intervene against the lawless tsunami of laewlessness churning in the store. And, believe me, I had plenty of handcuffs and zip-ties with me for securing such a mob!
There is one more reason I carry the badge; it makes the police feel safer!
You jest? Think about it........... Even the best police officers are too burdened with their daily duties to truly master the warrior arts. What cop has time to study the deeper martial meanings hinted at by the late David Carradine in 'Kung Fu'? What cop has learned the Dim Mak. And what cop is allowed to carry a Ruger Super RedHawk? Cops can't - I can.
I think tomorrow I will drive out and find a policeman. Then I'll casually whip open my vest and let him see my Ruger Super Redhawk with my gold CCW shield in front of that. When his admiring eyes meet mine, I'll give him that same pregnant-with-meaning nod that I gave the clerk at the quicky mart.
I betcha that cop gets out and thanks me for being on the street looking out for not only him, but all the law-abiding citizens of this town in which I proudly wear The CCW Badge.