By Jason Hanson

I rarely go out to eat unless I’m traveling. And the last few days I’ve been in Utah, Nevada and California. I was in Utah for my family reunion, which is always a good time since this is the side of my family that actually gets along and doesn’t try to avoid each other.

I was in Vegas for a few meetings, and now I’m back in California visiting the wonderful in-laws. And because of all of this traveling I’ve been eating out quite a bit and of course, carrying my gun in the restaurants (except in California.)

Today, I want to share with you some simple and important information about carrying your gun when you’re out to eat that will hopefully keep you and your family safer. First off, the gun I’ve been carrying is a Smith & Wesson snub-nosed revolver. I’ve been carrying it in my front right pocket, which is where I carry all of my pocket guns.

When carrying in your pocket…

The critical thing to remember is not to muzzle the person who is sitting across from you. In other words, before you sit down at a table in the restaurant you need to plan where you’re going to sit so you aren’t pointing a loaded gun at your family member.

Luckily, this is easy to do because when I sit in a booth I always sit on the left-hand side, furthest out. In this position my right leg is pointing out into the walking area of the restaurant and nobody who is with me is getting muzzled. (This is because men typically have their legs spread when sitting, which is why my right leg is pointing in the walking area. For women, you may have to adjust your legs and pretend you’re a guy for the duration of the meal.)

The other important thing to remember…

Always try and face the restaurant entrance if you can. I’ve had people in the past tell me that this is “stupid” to do or is what “Rambo” types try to do and I think they’re crazy to think this way. Almost all police officers do this and it takes about five seconds to change seats with someone, so if you’re carrying a gun I highly encourage you to do this.

After all, if you see someone come through the entrance showing warning signs of an attack, that extra second you have to react may be the difference between life and death. Again, the two items I’ve just shared are so simple that there is no reason not to do them the next time you go out to eat because you should always follow the four safety rules and because we know that attacks happen everywhere.