If you watch any cop shows or movies, you might forget — as you watch the good guys storming a building with their Glock 19s at the ready — what the purpose is of having a handgun.

As Chuck Taylor taught, a handgun is a reactive defensive weapon.

That means your handgun is a weapon you engage in reaction to a situation you did not or could not foresee. You do not storm a building with a handgun.

It also means that your handgun is for defending yourself, not for dealing offensively with situations.

If you are going into a situation where you know there is a high possibility of armed conflict, take a carbine or a shotgun.