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Old October 2, 2011, 08:44 PM   #1
Webleymkv
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 20, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 10,435
Modified weapons for CCW

I've been reading a lot of posts lately suggesting that it is a bad idea to use a gun that has been modified, particularly the disabling or removing of a safety feature like a magazine disconnect or grip safety, because a prosecuting attorney might "have a field day" or "crucify" one in court. While I can certainly see this opening one up to increased liability in the event of an accidental/negligent discharge, I find myself wondering how applicable that may be to a genuine self-defense situation.

My though process is as follows: safety features like grip safeties, internal locking mechanisms, firing pin blocks, and magazine disconnects are all put in place to prevent the gun from firing unintentionally. If one is genuinely defending himself/herself, however, then by definition they fired the gun intentionally and as such safety features which prevent the gun from firing unintentionally would seem irrelevant. Of course, an overly zealous prosecutor or lawyer for the plaintiff might still try to bring the modification up, but unless the other circumstances of the incident were "sketchy" to begin with I'd think that a defense attorney would be able to counter such arguments relatively easily.

I, however, am not an attorney nor do I play one on TV nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so there may be some other factor that I've overlooked. I would be very interested to hear the thoughts of those members who are lawyers or are particularly well-versed on such matters. I'm also not arguing for or against using a modified gun for self-defense, I only own one which has been modified beyond the cosmetic (aftermarket grips or finish) and I do not intend to ever rely on it for self-defense: a Webley Mk. IV revolver from which I removed a rather awkward and unnecessary cross-bolt that was installed by the Importer (Century) for reasons which are still unclear to me.
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