Another day, another mass shooting here. Not involved.

Once again, we have gunshots on Bourbon street on a Saturday night after midnight, just a short walk from my house.

1 Dead, Nine Wounded in Bourbon Street Shooting.

I am safe though. I will never be in danger of this particular recurring event because I know better than to be there. The old saying "Nothing good happens on Bourbon Street after midnight" is a truism, and especially so during the Bayou Classic week-end, when the Quarter fills up with, shall we say, a more "urban" crowd that tends to be unwelcome and the source of trouble pretty much everywhere that they gather in large numbers.

I avoid Bourbon Street after midnight as a rule, but I've learned from my friends here, including some of the most liberal SJW types you'll ever meet, to avoid the entire French Quarter during Bayou Classic and Essence Fest week-ends. Even liberals know trouble when they see it.

But this brings up a good point about concealed carry.

"You carry your gun when you go places like that, don't you?" This is a question I've been asked more than once. and my response is always the same:

"No. I don't go places like that." Duh.

While it's true that I carry almost all of the time, I also have the common sense to not go places where I know that there is a higher-than-average chance of needing that weapon. I don't go looking for trouble and trusting my firearm to get me out of it. I avoid trouble wherever possible by not going where it is expected to be. I was taught two good rules early on and I teach them to others every chance I get.

Rule #1. Always carry a gun.
Rule #2. Don't go places where you suspect that you might need to use that gun.

Of course I hope that trouble does not find me in other places, but if it does, I'm definitely prepared to deal with it, and with clean hands because I did not go forth to seek it out.

And that last bit: Crucial. Your legal right to self-defense fades quickly if you do things that contribute to the situation in which you were forced to use deadly force. That means if you provoke the fight, you may lose the defense, and the same applies if you knowingly go in harm's way. A license to carry doesn't mean that you get to go out and be Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson's character in the "Death Wish" movies for the younger readers here.) and just wait for muggers so you can shoot them. If a judge or jury decides that's what you were doing...well anyone who remembers Death Wish probably remembers Bernie Goetz, too. Don't be that guy.

Come to New Orleans. Have a good time. Look me up. Just don't look for me in places where trouble is expected because me and my ever-present sidearm will not be there.