Private bodyguards have the same rights as every other civilian. This means that if a state prohibits people from having firearms, private bodyguards wouldn’t be treated differently.
How then will a private unarmed bodyguard be able to protect a vip in very dangerous parts of town where almost everyone (Edit: a lot of persons) has illegally obtained firearms? Are they trained to disarm people? Or do they just scatter and bail?
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Guns are simply highly regulated, they are not outright illegal anywhere. Almost everywhere there are exceptions on how a civilian can legally carry a gun. It’s not necessarily a simple process, but there is a process to get a permit. Job requirements like security for cash transfers can get a gun everywhere or might in fact be required to carry one by law, more general mall guard however might be explicitly barred from carrying a gun on the job even if in private life they have permission to carry. It all depends on local legislation.
Bodyguards don’t get into shootouts. At least not the good ones. Major part of the job is seeing and reacting to threats before they become threats.
Once a threat engages, its job one to get the fuck out of Dodge. There is just too many unknowns by hanging around. One attacker or ten? Small arms fire or large arms fire? Are they closing my exits and backups.
Mobility keeps you alive.
There are often legal exemptions for companies vs citizens. You’d probably just have to have your bodyguard company apply for the correct licensing.
You can alter your tactics to use different technology when in different places. Perhaps you’d be allowed to use a non-lethal gun. There’s air guns that shoot capcaisin balls instead of paintballs that are concealable for sale in the UK for instance. Maybe you up armor your client or yourself or both.
Also yea sometimes you follow the better to beg forgiveness than ask permission doctrine. If your a rich VIP its better to hire a lawyer for your bodyguard and be alive right?
Thats my take at any rate…..
Well, first, if the person has a political role in the government, they’re going to need protection and you bet they’ll be laws enacted to see that it happens. It’s perfectly reasonable to have laws that keep people safe who could be a target of assassination. I don’t believe they need to be armed at all times, but they do need to be vigilant and protect who they are supposed to. For example, if you watch the JFK assassination footage, you’ll see the body guard cover Jackie Kennedy with his body after JFK was hit just in case the next target was her. Their job isn’t only to shoot the bad guy, it’s to keep their charges safe and to keep vigilant of the surroundings.
If you listened to the January 6th hearings, they had people explain what they had to do to get the president somewhere. Coordinating routes and safety procedures are a part of the job as well.
I’m going to assume that in those places the people that need bodyguards probably hire police
OP, most people in this thread are making things up based on what they’ve seen on TV or in movies, and do not seem to know anything about US federal or state gun laws. Or anything about protecting politicians or celebrities. Why would Brad Pitt be going to Skid Row with no warning on a random Tuesday? Do you know how much advance work is involved in a president visiting a wealthy, secure high school? (MONTHS AND MONTHS.) How is your VIP ending up in dangerous parts of town without an advance team?
The recent VIP who did this most, btw, was Bill Clinton, who would attend big events with *vetted and controlled* crowds, but then after giving his speech would venture out into the crowds unplanned to shake hands and talk to people, which drove his Secret Service agents *absolutely crazy*. And not just in the US — he would do this in tons of overseas locations, where the Secret Service had to rely on local security services for part of his security. They *hated* that he wanted to venture into the crowds.
Another really good VIP protection situation to read about is the Pope. John Paul II and Benedict XVI were well-behaved and mostly stayed in the bulletproof Popemobile and took security with them when they went places. But Pope Francis seems to delight in escaping his security detail like a naughty child. These days he’s in a wheelchair, but he won’t ride in the bulletproof Popemobile — he prefers to be wheeled along crowds in his chair and to constantly stop to talk and shake hands and give blessings. ANYBODY could shoot him; he’s a sitting duck. (John Paul II, who took many more security precautions, [was shot while in Vatican City](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Pope_John_Paul_II).) When Francis was first elevated to the Papacy (and was more mobile), he allegedly used to literally sneak out of the Vatican with the help of one particular cardinal buddy, so he could give alms to people and talk to people, which always set the Swiss Guard (some of who wear old-fashioned uniforms and carry halberds, but some of whom are modern security forces) into a panic.
In places where there are strict gun restrictions, you can still get permission to carry a gun and those who work as private security guards normally knows how to get these permissions. Since most private security guards have worked for the police at some point in their lives and retired, the federal government allows them to carry anywhere with a few exceptions without asking for permission.
Not ELI5
“The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) is a United States federal law, enacted in 2004, that allows two classes of persons—the “qualified law enforcement officer” and the “qualified retired or separated law enforcement officer”—to carry a concealed firearm in any jurisdiction in the United States, regardless of state or local laws, with certain exceptions.”
ELI5
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