I agree that things can get very complicated in a self defense case. I also agree that it would be better to not have to explain something at all (the reason for removing the firing pin block).
However... in the case you present... you are in deep stuff for reasons completely unrelated to the firing pin block removal. I understand your point... and that you were trying to highlight how things are not always so cut and dry. Part of your argument though about wanting the jury to see you as a solid, upstanding citizen vs. a gun nut who was just dying for the chance has a whole other set of complications surrounding it.
In the example you gave... there are two relevant items that could paint a picture of your "gun" character for the jury. It seems that in the previous discussion... there was the fear of some fool jury member who thinks that guns are evil and that anyone who has one MUST be itching to shoot people. If you are facing such a jury... what would your general guess be about how they weigh 1) You carry a concealed firearm on your person regularly 2) You removed a safety that the defense attorney explained... maybe a bit fuzzily... had no bearing on the shooting and is intended to prevent the gun firing when dropped.
Now.. I know the core of your argument is "Why even add to the troubles you have?". You are correct here that ideally, you would just leave it alone. But if you are up against a hostile jury... which of the two items from above do you think will weigh more heavily in their mind? My guess is that to someone who is gun-ignorant.... the fact that you carry a gun on your person when you are out grocery shopping looks very very bad and the safety issue probably contributes... but is a minor contribution.
It seems like carrying a taser or hotel-alpha-ing would be the safest legal solution. Of course.. I would rather be able to drop a fool that is trying to kill me and not leave my life to chance.
If legal risk is the most important factor to you... then you are correct... people who remove the safeties are at a higher legal risk (how much higher in practice is questionable and completely up to the jury members).
I don't carry on my person and am only concerned about the home invasion scenario. For me... this scenario is a pretty safe bet... so the risk of removing the safety does not worry me so much.
Regardless of the legal risk... I think everyone here agrees that Kimber should stop putting the firing pin blocks in because of their implementation. Some might feel that it decreases the reliablity of their guns.. but what really irks me is that they took a beautiful, generally standardized pistol... and added a bunch of proprietary junk to it that creates these legal problems, is extremely unfriendly to clean/check/maintain, can disable your gun completely if missing/damaged, alters the disassembly process and requires you to trust that Kimber will always be able to provide parts.
I grew up around firearms and have owned many different varieties of firearms. When I bought the Kimber... I was very excited to get my first 1911 and have such a customizable piece. I kinda thought in the back of my mind that it would be a gun that I would still have 40 years from now and would be able to easily maintain since so many people offer parts for 1911s. Later I realized that this is not the case... that this little piece of metal is going to cost 12 bucks (the push rod) and that I better buy a set of them if I am to trust that it will last me 40 years. Same reason I bought a wilson combat ar-15 receiver...they did not do special milling to prevent an auto-sear from being installed... it is the original design. If full auto ever becomes legal again... or the nuclear apocalypse comes... I would like to know that my firearm is standard and can take any parts I scrounge up. Just kidding about that (kind of).
I guess the only upside is that now I don't feel satisfied with "just" a Kimber and will probably get a Les Baer one day as that is probably a 1911 that I could trust for the next 40 years and pass down to my kids. Now I realize the gun I was so proud to get has been hobbled. No more Kimber for me.
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