Hey, shooters! I received some emails about new topics, and lights and lasers on handguns was one of them. Let me say right off the bat that this subject has been an area of much debate over the years, so let’s look at it from both sides.

Now a light attached to the rail under a modern polymer handgun such as a Glock or Sig can enable you to search along a fence line, in the bushes, in a stairwell or wherever, enabling you to see a potential threat or aggressor in a dark situation. But — and this is why I don’t like them attached to my self-defense handgun — too many times one forgets that not only are you pointing a flashlight at something, you are also pointing a loaded gun. Now if it turns out to be an assailant, I have no problem — but what if your neighbor also heard the noise out back, and now he’s looking down the business end of your gun? Obviously you see the potential for disaster here. I would rather I light the backyard up with a switched spot, floodlight, or flashlight in my off hand held away from the handgun. Basically what I’m saying is I like to identify something with my light before I point the gun at it. Secondly, a criminal may shoot at the light itself, and that might not be good. It’s a double-edged sword any way you look at it. Law enforcement officers are trained with lights but generally hold them with their weak side or non-gun hand using several different techniques. They are trained heavily on the dangers of using a gun and a light together. Rule of thumb: Be careful, and remember pointing a gun at someone if your life is not in imminent danger carries a mandatory three-year prison sentence.