Should We Arm Them? What I say. . .

Aug 6, 2014

Recording Monday’s podcast was a lot of fun.  The topic of arming paramedics and EMTs usually results in a heated discussion and I got to sit back and listen to two people with a lot more knowledge on a topic debate the finer point of it for close to an hour.  The arguments shared by both Chris Montera and Sean Eddy were both constructive and well thought out.  I found myself agreeing with both of them on many points, and could each of their sides of the arguments and walked away better understanding why they stand where they do.

The one thing that I did not do on the podcast though is share my personal opinion on the topic.  So, where do I stand, you ask?

Let me start out by saying that this topic is nothing new to the internet.  People have been debating arming EMTs and paramedics for years.  With each and every story posted on Facebook that has anything to do with an EMT getting assaulted comes a barrage of comments both for and against arming EMTs and paramedics.  There have been times where I have added my two cents to the conversation, consistently on the “con” side of the issue.  The replies I have gotten have been amusing.

I have been told that I am “infringing on (my) Second Amendment rights.”  I have been called a liberal who wants to empty out everyone’s gun cabinets.  Well, if you have met me, or read my political views, you would realize that I am far from what most would consider a liberal.  If you have any doubt about that, just ask Justin Schorr.  We have had some spirited political debates over the years.

Also, if you follow me on Twitter, it is easy to see that I am also a fan of the Opie and Anthony Show on Sirius/XM radio.  I feel silly calling it that now after the firing of Anthony Cumia, which personally I feel was unjust.  Without getting into the particulars of my feelings on that topic, I bring it up to point out one particular argument brought up by some of Anthony’s fans.  Some think that Anthony should not have been fired because when he sent out his now infamous Tweets, he was exercising his First Amendment rights.

What people forget is that even though you are allowed to say whatever you want, and the government allows you to do it, your employer does not have to go along with it.  The same goes for your Second Amendment rights.  Once you walk through the door of your employer, they can tell you what you can and cannot say.  They can tell you what you can and cannot do.  Everyone has the right and freedom to do whatever they like, however, those choices come with consequences.  Freedom of speech and the right to keep and bear arms are two of those.

People will ask, when it comes to arming yourself, what is the difference between doing it on and off the job when it comes to concealed carry in particular.  Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but there is a big difference.  First of all, think about why you want to arm yourself.  Presumably it is not just to carry a gun, it is because of a perceived danger in our profession.  There are plenty of articles out there that identifies EMS as one of the most dangerous professions out there, so we should arm ourselves, right?

Wrong.  When someone concealed carries on their own time, they are doing it to prepare themselves for a threat that might present itself.  They sink in to a room full of people, many of which probably have not armed themselves.  Most do not walk around with one hand on the but of their gun waiting for something to happen.  They are just prepared.

When we walk into a building on an “unknown medical” or respond to a psych patient or a shooting, we are walking in to a dangerous situation.  We are potentially surrounding ourselves with a dangerous situation.  A simple concealed carry class prepares you for the day to day handling of a weapon, but it does not prepare you for a more aggressive setting like the ones that we could potentially walk in to.

And, in light of these articles that tell us how dangerous our field is, we need to start asking ourselves why it is so dangerous.  Paramedics and EMTs are not getting shot and killed by armed assailants on a daily basis.  They are dying in ambulance wrecks.  That is a far more pressing issues that we should address.

This brings us to the question of more training.  Why don’t we expand the training of EMTs and paramedics who want to carry to include an advanced fire arm class?  I find this argument interesting because it once again draws a closer comparison to the work done by police offers than it does firefighters.

But that is a discussion for another time.

Finally, I would like people to remember that they do not work alone in this field.  The most frequent argument people make is that they want the option to concealed carry if they choose to.  While systems thus far have not had any documented incidents with a negative outcome (or a positive one for that matter) my greatest fear is that someone will be negatively effected by a decision such as the one to concealed carry when they choose not to because the aggressor in the situation thinks that the provider might be carrying.

So those are some of my thoughts on the topic.  I am staunchly against arming EMTs and paramedics.  If you want to carry off the job, that is fine.  But just remember, when you walk into your place of employment, you are now going by their rules, and you might not always agree with them, but those are the breaks.

If you want to read more about the topic of arming EMTs and paramedics, I suggest that you head over to Sean Eddy’s blog and see what he has to say.

Or you could just go and take a listen to Episode 14 of the podcast to see what Chris Montera and Sean Eddy have to say about the topic.