Anyone who thinks; carrying a sidearm for self-defense is unwarranted needs to read this. . . .

Gangbangers, criminals, both men and women. . . . .

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http://www.stoppingpower.net/commentary/comm_cop_killers.asp


New Findings from the FBI 
about Cop Attackers and Their Weapons

(From the Force Science News provided by The Force Science Research Center.)


5-year study by the FBI.

Among other things, the data reveal that most would-be cop killers:
show signs of being armed that officers miss; have more experience using deadly force in “street combat” than their intended victims;
practice with firearms more often and shoot more accurately;
have no hesitation whatsoever about pulling the trigger. "If you hesitate," one told the study’s researchers, "you’re dead. You have the instinct or you don’t. If you don’t, you’re in trouble on the street..."

Weapon Choice:
Predominately handguns and all but one were obtained illegally, usually in street transactions or in thefts.
In contrast to media myth, (and outright lies from media and gunbanners -my comment) none of the firearms in the study was obtained from gun shows. What was available "was the overriding factor in weapon choice," the report says.

None of the attackers interviewed was "hindered by any law--federal, state or local--that has ever been established to prevent gun ownership. They just laughed at gun laws."

(so quit making new gun laws and start enforcing the ones we already have. . . DUH!   Oh. . .  stop penalizing, good, honest citizens with your incredibly stupid, obfuscating, hairbrained, cockamamy, nonsensical, vacuous, ill-advised, imprudent, un-enforcable gun laws.)
Familiarity:
Several of the offenders began regularly to carry weapons when they were 9 to 12 years old , although the average age was 17 when they first started packing "most of the time."
Concealment:
The offenders said they most often hid guns on their person in the front waistband, with the groin area and the small of the back nearly tied for second place. Some occasionally gave their weapons to another person to carry, "most often a female companion." None regularly used a holster, and about 40% at least sometimes carried a backup weapon.


In motor vehicles, they most often kept their firearm readily available on their person, or, less often, under the seat. In residences, most stashed their weapon under a pillow, on a nightstand, under the mattress--somewhere within immediate reach while in bed.


Almost all carried when on the move and strong majorities did so when socializing, committing crimes or being at home. About one-third brought weapons with them to work. Interestingly, the offenders in this study more commonly admitted having guns under all these circumstances than did offenders interviewed in the researchers' earlier 2 surveys, conducted in the 1980s and '90s.
Shooting Style:
They practice getting the gun out and using it," Davis explained. "They shoot for effect." Or as one of the offenders put it: "[W]e're not working with no marksmanship... We just putting it in your direction, you know... It don't matter... as long as it's gonna hit you…if it's up at your head or your chest, down at your legs, whatever... Once I squeeze and you fall, then... if I want to execute you, then I could go from there."
Mind-set:
The study team "did not realize how cold blooded the younger generation of offender is. They don't hesitate to shoot anybody, including a police officer. They can go from riding down the street saying what a beautiful day it is to killing in the next instant."


"Offenders typically displayed no moral or ethical restraints in using firearms," the report states. "In fact, the street combat veterans survived by developing a shoot-first mentality."

I'd say that open or concealed carry is about as prudent as can be.