Just as not all psychopaths are created equal, so it is that not all psychopath victims are created equal. In this day of extreme polarity between the propensity to desire the reinforcement of the right to bear arms and the desire to disarm citizens, there are victims of psychopaths that are more acquainted with firearms than they were before their involvement with the psycho.
Though it is less common, some predatory psychopaths insist on possessing lethal weapons, especially guns, whether they are legally entitled to them or not. Of these, they are more often than not found brandishing their weapons before their victims. This is an effective method of commanding complete control and authority over any circumstance.
As a side note, I have also heard victims recount many times that an armed psychopath has used his or her weapon as a prelude to sex as the psychopath can be sexually aroused by intimidating the victim to perform undesirable sex acts at gunpoint.
These psychopath victims have no bullet wounds to offer as proof of the fear that they may be killed by a firearm at any point, but they have suffered wounds that go deeper and cause more extended pain and suffering than any bullet wound. Psychologically, this can be devastating to the victim of an armed psychopath.
These victims are mostly women, though about 20 percent of them are men, and these women and men would probably not know what to do with a sidearm if they held it in their hands.
It is these victims that I have a conversation with about considering arming themselves likewise. I don’t mean just getting a concealed carry permit and buying a gun from the sports store that fits their hand. If you have the legal right to possess a weapon and hold it in your hand in the presence of a predatory psychopath, you might as well just hand it to him or her and say, “Shoot me with this, please.”
If a highly valued psychopath victim attempts to leave the psychopathic entanglement before the time that the psychopath is done with the said victim, it could send the psycho over the edge.
This is when the psychopath becomes reckless, most unpredictable, and may even break the golden rule of the majority of those who are in the spectrum of psychopathy, “Never kill anyone by your own hand.” Because the risk is that their enthusiastic psychopathic victimization can be severely negatively impacted by a life sentence, even though he or she can continue to victimize to a lesser degree behind bars, and they do.
If the victim feels adamant about the call to arms to protect themselves because they may have discovered that unlike the detective TV show, they may have watched on television in the past, if you have reported and separated from a psychopath, the local police department is not going to post up a squad car outside your house or assign a handsome, tall, dark-haired, armed detective to protect you.
So, self-protection is a viable, if not preferred, step to take.
I work with a highly trained weapons trainer to whom I refer psychopath victims who desire to protect themselves with a firearm. He is very specialized and can turn any victim into a proficient lethal weapon handler.
If you have a gun range nearby, you may be able to take a class and work independently with a firearms instructor, but you might not get the quality of instruction that I insist upon. Even so, some training is better than nothing.
An average firearms instructor will teach you all the normal things, such as,
- Introduction to firearms safety
- Understanding firearms
- Shooting fundamentals
- Live-fire range instruction
- Concealed carry
- Maintenance and storage
Which would make a great firearms course that any novice would be both proud and pleased to have attended.
But what if your psychopath is an experienced criminal gunslinger, or possibly a military or police officer, someone who is trained and qualified to shoot to kill? The aforementioned gun safety course will not be enough.
If your gun range does not offer an advanced defensive firearms course, you can ask them for a referral or explain your situation to the firearms instructor (being cautious because he may be acquainted with your psychopath) and request that he work with you independently to cover other training, such as,
- Defensive shooting tactics
- Situational awareness
- De-escalation techniques
- Weapon retention
- Self-Defense Tactics
- In-home weapons placement
- Disarming techniques
- Legal considerations
Now it’s starting to sound like the kind of firearms training that a Navy Seal might take and having these items in your defensive toolbelt will raise your confidence level enough to increase your chances of survival against either a trained or experienced killer.
Keep in mind that the victim is not taking a course on how to shoot and kill a psychopath. The victim is learning how to use and retain a firearm to prevent his or her own murder. This is not about revenge. It is about stopping the psychopath and keeping him or her from killing the victim.
It’s important to note that a defensive weapons training course is just one component of a comprehensive self-defense strategy. In addition to firearms training, victims of abuse should also consider seeking help from local law enforcement agencies, victim support organizations, and legal professionals to ensure their safety and protection.