Category: Safety

Abbott: Texas Has Constitutional Right To Defend Its Borders From Invasion, Supersedes All Federal Law.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a defiant statement on Wednesday pushing back against President Joe Biden’s attempts to stop Texas from securing its borders against the millions of illegal aliens pouring into the state thanks to Biden’s reckless border policies.

Abbott’s statement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration earlier this week, ruling that it could remove or cut through razor wire the state has deployed to stop illegal aliens from crossing the Rio Grande into the state.

“President Biden has violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress,” Abbott said. “Instead of prosecuting immigrants for the federal crime of illegal entry, President Biden has sent his lawyers into federal courts to sue Texas for taking action to secure the border.”

“President Biden has instructed his agencies to ignore federal statutes that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants. The effect is to illegally allow their en masse parole into the United States,” he continued, adding: “By wasting taxpayer dollars to tear open Texas’s border security infrastructure, President Biden has enticed illegal immigrants away from the 28 legal entry points along this State’s southern border—bridges where nobody drowns—and into the dangerous waters of the Rio Grande.”

The governor noted that more than 6 million illegal aliens have entered Texas through its southern border under the Biden administration, a number greater than the population of 30 U.S. states.

Abbott continued:

James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the other visionaries who wrote the U.S. Constitution foresaw that States should not be left to the mercy of a lawless president who does nothing to stop external threats like cartels smuggling millions of illegal immigrants across the border.

That is why the Framers included both Article IV, § 4, which promises that the federal government “shall protect each [State] against invasion,[“] and Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which acknowledges “the States’ sovereign interest in protecting their borders.” Arizona v. United States, 567 U.S. 387, 419 (2012) (Scalia, J., dissenting).

Abbott said that Biden’s failures to secure the border “imposed by Article IV, § 4 has triggered Article I, § 10, Clause 3, which reserves to this State the right of self-defense.”

“For these reasons, I have already declared an invasion under Article I, § 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’s constitutional authority to defend and protect itself,” he concluded. “That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas personnel are acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border.”

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Sordid Lessons from Uvalde School Shooting; Justice Department Cites “Cascading Failures.”

WHEN SECONDS COUNT, THE POLICE ARE MINUTES AWAY JUST NOT COMING

The U.S. Department of Justice released its findings yesterday on the May 2022 school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which left nineteen children and two teachers dead and another 17 wounded. The report, “Critical Incident Review Active Shooter at Robb Elementary School,” found what it called “cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy and training” also using terms such as “critical failure,” “breakdown,” demonstrations upon leadership “of no urgency,” policy “training deficiencies” and more on the part of mostly local law enforcement officials. The word “failure” appeared dozens of times throughout the report.

The report noted that law enforcement officers were on the scene within 3 minutes of the first 911 call, yet the threat was not eliminated until more than an hour later.

The central issue was found to be a failure by law enforcement to treat the scene as an active shooter situation upon arrival. Specifically, first-on-the-scene responders, including the commanding officer reportedly shifted the response to that of a barricaded shooter…despite 911 dispatchers relaying they had received calls from children inside the classroom four minutes after officers arrived. Leadership also failed to establish a clear command structure, leaving many arriving support officers confused and without clear orders. 

Officials received intense criticism in the aftermath of the attack, with more than 75 minutes passing after the initial police response and before action was taken against the shooter, during which multiple calls by students were made to 911.

Former Uvalde Acting Police Chief Mariano Pargas and Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, neither who are still on their jobs, is where much of the initial blame has been placed as they were both ultimately in charge. Indeed, many families of the victims and within the community of Uvalde want officials who were responsible for the botched response to face criminal charges, according to the Texas Tribune. According to the Associated Press, local officials are still “weighing whether to bring charges.”

What added more pain and disgust to the situation for many Americans at the time of the massacre was the scene of police officers, who we now know went from “active shooter” mode to dealing with what they simply were communicating as a “barricade situation,” keeping understandably panicked parents—some getting text messages and calls from their children inside the school—from entering to save their children.

To review the complete 610-page Justice Dept. report, click here.

The legal right to Self-Defense

In its natural form and going back to the beginning of time, we have felt that we have the right to self-defense. This statement is true but if you are not aware of the specifics to a self-defense claim, you might find yourself in legal trouble. It is expected that a person has the right to self-defense and the defense of another.

You would think that such a natural act as defending yourself or another would be the same no matter where you go in the United States or worldwide, but self-defense laws vary from state to state. Some states have Castle Doctrines and Stand your Ground laws and others do not. It is important to know what actions you might need to take to re-enforce your self-defense claim.

Self-defense is the act of using force to protect yourself or a third party from imminent harm or bodily injury. So, does this mean if someone is throwing a punch at me, which could cause injury, I can draw my firearm and shoot them?

The level of force that you take will be considered during the evaluation of the incident. The level of force needs to be appropriate to the force being inflected on you. This is where the courts will apply the reasonable person rule. Depending on the force directed at you, was your responding force reasonable to defend yourself from such force?

Self-defense laws can be more complicated than they first appear. Another aspect of self-defense is whether the action taken by the assailant is imminent. Are you reacting to something that you fear might happen, or that could possibly happen, or is it immediate and occurring at that moment where if you did not react, you or a third party will be injured.

Let’s look at another aspect of a self-defense claim. Did you provoke the situation? Yes, we all at times lose our cool and say things or provoke others to react to our actions. This doesn’t rid you of a self-defense claim if the incident were to escalate, but there are other actions that you need to take in an attempt to remove yourself from the incident before you can legally claim self-defense. In other words, I can’t pick a fight and when the other party responds, I react with force and then claim self-defense. If I initiate the scenario and it turns ugly, then I need to take appropriate actions showing that I attempted to calm the situation or remove myself from the quarrel.

I’m constantly given scenarios by students of mine and asked how they should respond to such scenarios. That’s a difficult task because each individual has to articulate their reason for the fear of imminent harm. As a 10-year military veteran and 20-year retired police officer who served 7 years on SWAT, it’s a little harder for me to claim fear for my life than it is for a 120-pound female that has never had any tactical training. That “reasonable person” concept is going to look at every aspect of your life and experiences when determining whether your response was reasonable.

There are many variables to consider during a possible life-threatening event. Cooler heads prevail. Consciously tell yourself to stay calm and consider everything that is occurring around you. Panic leads to tunnel vision and the possibility of miss-reading the entire event.

In the state of Arizona, we do not have a duty to retreat, and we do have a stand your ground law. By law you do not have to take appropriate actions to remove yourself from the dangerous environment. I look at these laws as a re-enforcement of my self-defense claim, if necessary, but I don’t use it as a “why I stayed claim.” I would rather do everything I could to not act in self-defense.

You can serious injure someone or even take their life and be justified in doing so, but you still have to live with that fact. That statement is by no means advising you to not defend yourself, it is persuading you to do everything you can to not have to.

NEVER STOP TRAINING!

Never Stop Training!
Oz Johnson/Lead Instructor, NRA Certified
Karin Johnson/Operations Manager
JohnsonGroupTAC.com

Bill would require Alaska schools to have trusted adults carry handguns on campuses

n an effort to ensure that Alaska school districts enlist qualified adults to carry concealed guns for the protection of students and educators, State Sen. Shelley Hughes has filed a bill entitled, “The Safe Schools Act.”

Senate Bill 173 aims to deter active shooting tragedies from occurring in Alaska’s K-12 schools.

According to Hughes, she was inspired to file the bill after being approached by a retired teacher who previously worked at Bethel High School when a tragic shooting occurred on Feb. 19, 1997. That day, two people were killed, and two others injured when 16-year-old student Evan Ramsey arrived at the school with a shotgun. Ramsey shot and killed 15-year-old Josh Palacios and Principal Ron Edwards, before surrendering to police.

“If we do nothing, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” Hughes said upon filing her bill. “This is a critical conversation, and it is time for critical decision-making. If we want to prevent the deaths of school children in Alaska, we need to act. If we wait to address this matter until after precious children have died, what a dreadful shame and inexcusable mistake that will be.”

“Our students deserve every opportunity to participate in our education system without fear of losing their lives,” Hughes added.

According to K-12 Shooting Database, there were 346 shooting incidents in 2023 resulting in 249 victims either wounded or killed. Over the past five years, the number of school shootings has skyrocketed with 1,073 students and staff being wounded or killed nationwide.

“Like you, over the years I’ve watched with horror the news reports of shootings at schools: Columbine, Parkland, Uvalde,” Hughes said. “I’ve wondered too like you, what if there had been intervention to help that person? But I’ve also asked, what if the school had been better prepared? What if that school campus had permitted concealed carry? Maybe the incident would not have occurred at all.”

Hughes emphasized that every second, every minute counts when a person begins to shoot in a school building.

“Due to distance, when law enforcement response in Alaska can take from a few minutes to a few hours, or with inclement weather in remote communities, even longer, our children, our teachers and staff are sitting ducks,” she noted. “Our officers do their best to respond quickly but Alaska is a state of mammoth proportions. We need well-trained individuals on-site who can respond immediately.”

Current Alaska law does not prevent superintendents and school boards from setting policy to allow concealed carry, but none have done so.

Hughes bill would change this by requiring schools to “grant one or more persons who meet the requirements” of the law to “carry a concealed handgun on the person on school grounds for defensive use.” The only exception is when no qualified person can be found.

School districts would also need to develop a written policy establishing the standards and requirements for conceal carry in schools, and document and fund firearm training and education for those who conceal carry in schools.

Hughes said she hopes her bill will give communities a path forward to begin assigning concealed carry duty to “trusted, stable, respected, and well-trained individuals.”

“Our students deserve every opportunity to participate in our education system without fear of losing their lives,” Hughes added.

The bill is set for its first public hearing on Jan. 24 at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee. Testimony at this initial meeting will be by invitation only.

Baldwin Facing Involuntary Manslaughter Charges After Grand Jury Indictment

A few months ago it looked like Alec Baldwin was going to avoid having to choose between a trial and a plea bargain for his role in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Last April prosecutors dropped the original charge against the actor, citing new evidence that the gun in question might have been modified or malfunctioned, though they did say at the time that the “decision does not absolve Mr. Baldwin of criminal culpability and charges may be refiled.”

The investigation continued after the dismissal, and prosecutors received another analysis of the revolver by the Arizona company Forensic Science Services, which concluded that despite Baldwin’s claims that he never pulled the trigger of the gun before it discharged the round that killed Hutchins, “the trigger had to be pulled or depressed sufficiently to release the fully cocked or retracted hammer of the evidence revolver.”

Prosecutors recently brought that analysis before a grand jury, and now its members have indicted Baldwin on the same charge that was dismissed in 2023.

While the proceeding is shrouded in secrecy, two of the witnesses seen at the courthouse included crew members — one who was present when the fatal shot was fired and another who had walked off the set the day before due to safety concerns.

Baldwin, the lead actor and a co-producer on the Western movie “Rust,” was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.

Baldwin’s not the only one facing charges, of course. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was Rust’s armorer, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering in the case. Her trial was supposed to take place last month, but is now scheduled for February 21.David Halls, who was an assistant director as well as film’s safety coordinator, ended up taking a plea deal last March; pleading no contest to a single count of unsafe handling of a firearm in exchange for six months of probation, suspended.

Baldin’s attorneys offered a brief comment to Variety after the indictment was announced, telling reporters only, “We look forward to our day in court.” With the possibility of an 18-month prison sentence hanging over his head, my guess is that Baldwin and his legal team are also looking to see what kind of deal might be on the table before a trial takes place.

This case has been a hot mess from almost Day 1; with multiple prosecutors recusing or resigning from the case, charges filed, dropped, and now refiled, and conflicting reports about the gun in Baldwin’s hand when Hutchins was killed. Despite enough drama to serve as the inspiration for a whole season of Law & Order episodes, the case ultimately boils down to this: can prosecutors prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he acted negligently and without due care by violating some of the cardinal rules of gun safety on the set? They’re probably going to need more than a forensic report, so it will be interesting to see if either of the two crew members spotted at the courthouse where the grand jury met is willing to state that they actually saw Baldwin pull the trigger with Hutchins and Souza in front of him.

Speaking of the rules for gun safety, if nothing else, Baldwin’s legal woes are a good opportunity to remind him and everyone else of the four fundamentals:

  • Always keep your gun pointed in a safe direction
  • Keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot
  • Know your target and what’s beyond
  • Treat all guns as if they are loaded at all times

Follow these rules (and I’d throw in the fifth rule of never mixing guns and alcohol/drugs as well) and you’ll be fine. Ignore them and it might not be just your own future you put in peril but your friends, family, range buddies, or even co-workers.

I’m sensing a trend

After Media-Brutalized Gun Freedom Law, Violent Crime Drops In Florida

When Florida became the 26th state to adopt constitutional carry, corporate media and Democrats lost their minds.

None of the requirements for how citizens obtained guns in the Sunshine State changed when Florida House Bill 543 became law July 1, 2023. That didn’t stop the anti-gun press, which were not welcome at the signing, from claiming that permitless concealed carry would exacerbate shootings.

“Following mass shootings, DeSantis signs permitless carry bill,” one NBC News headline complained. In the article, the producer of “The Rachel Maddow Show” sneered at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for trading what he dubbed “modest gun safeguards” for an “extreme” and “controversial” law.

Forbes also amplified rhetoric from gun control groups including Giffords claiming the pro-Second Amendment law is “dangerous” and “will drive gun violence up and further jeopardize the safety of our families and communities.”

Even President Joe Biden’s White House joined the dogpile on DeSantis and Florida Republicans for daring to reinforce their constituents’ constitutional rights.

“It is shameful that so soon after another tragic school shooting, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a permitless concealed carry bill behind closed doors, which eliminates the need to get a license to carry a concealed weapon,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote. “This is the opposite of commonsense gun safety. The people of Florida — who have paid a steep price for state and Congressional inaction on guns from Parkland to Pulse Nightclub to Pine Hills — deserve better.”

Now, more than six months after the law’s adoption, evidence contradicts Democrats’ fearmongering that allowing law-abiding citizens to carry a loaded gun for self-defense would result in more “senseless tragedies.”

Since the legalization of constitutional carry in July 2023, Florida’s biggest cities saw a significant decrease in violent crimes, including shootings. In Jacksonville, murders and homicides dropped 6 percent in 2023 from the previous year.

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Checking the training requirements, this is set up for retired West Virginia state police officers and deputy sheriffs, far more than for veterans

W.Va. Senate passes bill to allow armed “WV Guardians” in schools
The West Virginia Senate passed Senate Bill 143, creating the West Virginia Guardian Program….

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WTAP) – West Virginia lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow veterans and some retired law enforcement officers to provide armed security in public schools.

The West Virginia Senate passed Senate Bill 143, creating the West Virginia Guardian Program, on Friday.

The bill allows county boards of education in West Virginia to contract with honorably discharged veterans, former state troopers, former sheriff’s deputies, or former federal law enforcement officers to provide public safety and security on public school grounds and buildings.

The bill would not grant arrest authority to WV Guardians but would allow them to carry concealed weapons on school property.

Lead Sponsor Senator Eric Tarr (R – Putnam, Dist. 4) said the bill was informed by conversations with veterans. “This was brought to me by some retired military individuals who were in special forces and had concerns over school shootings that are happening across the country and said that we need people in our schools who are trained to run at a gun in an instant when it’s necessary,” Tarr said.

The bill was introduced last year, when it passed the senate but did not become law. SB 143 will now be considered by the House of Delegates.

Note The New Madrid Fault, right smack on the Mississippi

New map shows where damaging earthquakes are most likely to occur in US.

New USGS map shows where damaging earthquakes are most likely to occur in US 

Nearly 75% of the U.S. could experience damaging earthquake shaking, according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey-led team of more than 50 scientists and engineers.

This was one of several key findings from the latest USGS National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM). The model was used to create a color-coded map that pinpoints where damaging earthquakes are most likely to occur based on insights from , historical geologic data, and the latest data-collection technologies.

The research is published in the journal Earthquake Spectra.

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BLUF
The study just says what Second Amendment advocates have long asserted: Law-abiding gun owners are not the problem when it comes to gun crimes.

Ohio Just Disproved a Gun-Control Talking Point

DAVE YOST is Ohio’s 51st attorney general.

Critics believed constitutional carry in the state would increase crime. They were wrong.

The mayor stood, frowning and grim, flanked by uniformed police officers. Another horrific gun crime had occurred — and it was all the fault of the state legislators who had recently repealed the law requiring a permit to carry a concealed weapon, what proponents call “constitutional carry.”

“The Republican-led legislature in Columbus passed SB 215 and across this state from Cleveland to Columbus to Cincinnati, you see an uptick in shootings across our state. . . . It’s important that we hold them accountable for passing dangerous gun laws in our state,” the mayor said, his angry voice rising above the roar of nearby freeway traffic.

“The most reckless and . . . careless gun policy in the state’s history,” the mayor said.

“It’s creating an arms race where people don’t feel safe unless they have a gun. So guns beget more guns, which, unfortunately, makes us all unsafe,” the mayor said.

But which mayor? The first quote was from Mayor Justin Bibb of Cleveland. The second one is from Mayor Andrew Ginther of Columbus. The arms-race quote was from Aftab Pureval, mayor of Cincinnati, on National Public Radio.

Ohio’s three biggest cities — they all got in with the same message: It’s not our fault; it’s the new state law.

There was only one problem: It wasn’t true.

My office commissioned a study with Bowling Green State University to examine gun crime in Ohio’s eight largest cities the year before the law changed — June 13, 2022 — and the year afterward. The conclusion: Eliminating concealed-carry licenses had no impact on gun crimes, and in six of the eight cities, gun crimes actually declined.

I honestly did not know what the data would show, but a study seemingly would be useful for the ongoing debate either way. The numbers could have increased — gun crime, like any other crime, has multiple causes. And it wouldn’t have been surprising if the numbers had stayed the same, because a great deal of the action taken by government seems to have marginal impacts, if any.

But the numbers went down.

In Parma, gun crimes dropped by a whopping 22 percent after constitutional carry; Akron and Toledo both saw declines of 18 percent; and Columbus logged a 12 percent reduction. Canton and Cleveland had single-digit percentage decreases. Cincinnati and Dayton both had single-digit percentage increases.

Over the entire eight-city sample, gun crime dropped by 8 percent. Shot Spotter technology, which detects the sound of a gunshot in a city, produced data that was consistent with the reported crimes where it was available.

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The Carjacking Dilemma: Keep yourself safe while you’re in your car.

I’m seeing reports that carjackings are on the rise in some cities. This form of robbery depends upon the criminal acting quickly and violently before the victim realizes what is going on or has a chance to respond. Still, carjacking can be defeated if the intended victims…that’s you & me…will study the problem and develop a plan of action.

Remember, I said “quickly and violently”, so let’s give some thought to taking “quickly” out of the mix, and the best way I know to do that is to make it a habit to always have the doors locked and the windows up. We know that window glass is not as sturdy as windshield glass. A window can be busted out much more easily. However, that takes a bit of time, and it is time that we can use to respond to the attack. The key is to make it a habit to roll up the windows and make sure the doors are locked each and every time we use our vehicle.

Another thing to realize is that the vehicle itself may be the best defensive tool at your disposal. The first thought may be to stomp the gas and try to drive off. But have you thought about making the escape by putting the car in reverse? How about driving on the sidewalk? Of course, with any quick, defensive maneuver we want to make every effort to avoid hurting innocents that might be near. I often tell students, “If your car is moving, it’s a defensive tool. If it is sitting still, it’s a coffin.” What can you do with your vehicle to defeat a carjacking? Give it some thought.

If you legally carry a defensive firearm in your car…and I hope that you do…you need to give some thought to how you carry it and how easily it is to get it into action. If you carry in such a way that you have to undo your seat belt to get at it, I would suggest you find another carry method. Crossdraw, shoulder holsters, even ankle holsters, might be worth experimenting with.

In addition, it would be a good idea to practice shooting with only one hand because your other hand may be busy with the steering wheel. Also practice shooting at odd angles because an armed attacker might be shooting at you from positions other than at your driver’s-side window.

And, as always, force yourself to stay alert. If you can see it coming, you have a far better chance of avoiding he trap. If you wait until they’ve got you pinned between two cars, you may have waited too late. In heavy traffic, bad neighborhoods, or when things just don’t feel right, turn off your radio, quit talking on the phone or texting and give your surroundings your full attention.

Carjackers can be defeated and you can get it done.

Christian school in heartland to arm, train staff amid concern with ‘threats’ coming ‘on a regular basis’
The superintendent of a private Iowa school said arming certain staffers was a ‘necessary step’ in light of tragedy unfolding in schools

“The staff who have been selected and trained will remain anonymous, and with God’s help this layer of protection will never need to be deployed. We expect no changes to the day to day experiences of students and staff,” the superintendent of Siouxland Christian School, located in Sioux City, Lindsay Laurich said in a letter to the school community last week, which was provided to Fox News Digital.

The school is not detailing how many staff members will be armed while on campus, or their identities, “in order to protect the staff who are taking this courageous responsibility,” Laurich told Fox News Digital. She added that the school had been considering the policy for a year before the official announcement last week.

“I would just add that we have been working on this plan for over a year. However, we felt that this was a necessary step that was needed for our school community,” Laurich said.

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per @2aHistory

Updated 2021 data…because CDC still hasn’t even released 2022 data.
Constitutional Carry doesn’t correlate to high homicide rates.

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The 4 states with the lowest rates DO have permitless carry.
And 10 of the lowest 15 do.

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Updated information on Mass Public Shootings from 1998 through October 2023

Between January 1st, 1998, and October 25th, 2023, 52.5% of attacks used solely handguns, and 16.8% used only rifles of any type—thirty-five percent of attacks used solely rifles or rifles in conjunction with another type of gun. Given the debate over pistol-stabilizing braces, the Excel file we provide lists the guns used in each attack, and two of the attacks used AR-15-type handguns with a pistol-stabilizing brace.

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Local business teams with NRA to present self-defense class

Local business teams with NRA to present self-defense class

No more victims.

That is the motto of Faith Sample, whose new business, She Shoots Back, is teaming up with National Rifle Association to host an event entitled “Refuse To Be A Victim.”

The self-defense class, which will be held Saturday, Jan. 13, was borne out of a desire to equip everyone with basic safety methods.

“‘Refuse To Be A Victim’ teaches methods to avoid dangerous situations and prevent criminal confrontations,” said Sample. “Seminar participants will be presented with a variety of common-sense crime prevention and personal safety strategies and devices that may be integrated into their personal, home, automobile, telephone, technological and travel safety.”

“Refuse To Be A Victim,” which has been a mainstay of self-defense prevention since 1993, focuses on basic habits and steps that can be taken to reduce being the victim of a crime.

The class will not contain or train on firearms, instead focusing on preventing situations rather than confronting them.

The class is open to both men and women, and there are sections dedicated to people of all ages, as well as parents.

Sample said that she teaches many similar techniques through She Shoots Back, which was established in 2023. “There have been times in my own life, and in the life of loved ones when either ignorance or inability has led to devastating results,” Sample said. “I have since spent many hours in training and research to be able to teach others what they can do to either prevent or deal with a victimizing situation.”

Part of learning to deal with such situations is being armed, which Sample includes as one of her many classes. “I learned how to shoot and carry a firearm after these initial experiences and after ten years have finally decided that continuing training and becoming an instructor was something I could do to make a difference,” she saId.

Sample stated that her gun classes are catered toward women in an effort to foster a comfortable environment. Some of the women she teaches come from unstable or violent backgrounds, and need a safe space to learn to protect themselves.

“Domestic violence is more prevalent than you think,” she said. “It can be fostered through generations, and it takes strong people to seek help and break such cycles. What every woman needs on hand to protect herself is, in my opinion, a determination to succeed and a listening ear to the inner voice that lets you know when something isn’t right.”

Sample, who also works as a teacher and has children of her own, said she hopes She Shoots Back will be part of solution to end cycles of violence.

“I think the most important thing we should take from this is that we should never just look the other way or accept abuse.  We should always recognize the worth of every human soul and that includes our own.  No one deserves to be a victim.”

Refuse To Be a Victim will take place at the Gene Moss Building on Jan. 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $40 and proceeds will be donated to the Saline County Safe Haven. Those who sign up by Wednesday, January 10 will receive a booklet with their training. For tickets and more information on She Shoots Back, please visit https://sheshootsback.com/nra-refuse-to-be-a-victim/.

When both Massad & Clint advise such, well……

The Primary Reason to Carry a Spare Magazine

There are several debates that endlessly rage in the firearms community, and one specific to concealed carry is whether or not to wear a spare magazine on your person when you are armed. A strong argument can be made that reloads virtually never happen in civilian self-defense, as the typical protocol seems to be people shoot until empty and then break contact. If the defender starts shooting, the criminal element most often becomes late for a different appointment. Therefore, in the vast majority of civilian defensive gun use, we don’t see reloads.

Still, this author leans towards having and not needing rather than needing and not having. I almost always carry a reload. I can confidently say that many people I know and respect who carry all the time do not carry a reload, while others do. Therefore, it is impossible to suggest the right thing to do here. The chance of needing the gun on any given day is slim, and the chance of needing to reload it in a fight is minuscule. However, concealed carriers opt to go prepared rather than just rely on statistical probabilities.

Historically, low-capacity handguns and no reloads on-person seem to have most often been all that is required to get the civilian self-defender out of trouble. This will probably continue to be the case most of the time. What about the minority of the time? With an undeniable increase in mob violence that involves multiple assailants, as well as an increase in active killer attacks, which have proven to demand distance shooting and a significant amount of rounds fired to neutralize the threat, carrying a reload makes more and more sense.

Even here, though, the most pressing reasons to carry a reload are seldom discussed. Consider the following more likely reasons that may warrant a second magazine:

The Magazine Can Go Missing
Yes, you read that correctly; a magazine can go missing. Especially during the stress and chaos of a fight. How does a magazine go missing? You inadvertently eject it out of the gun. If that happens, would you prefer to reload with the second magazine on your belt or in your pocket, or would you rather search around on the ground for the one you dropped while violence is occurring? According to my way of thinking, this is the primary reason to carry a reload.

Many will declare that they have never dropped a magazine unintentionally, so why discuss it? Those who say this have probably never shot beyond a flat range’s predictable comfort and casual atmosphere. I was at an IDPA match years ago when a competitor, who was a good shooter and an active duty cop, accidentally ejected his magazine from his Smith and Wesson M&P twice during a single stage. After the stage, he told me that he had fired thousands of rounds through that gun, and that had never happened before. I asked him how many matches he shot with the gun, to which he replied that this was his first. Thus, even the stress and faster pace of a match induced malfunctions that this shooter never before experienced. Do you suppose that in the stress of a fight, you might do something differently compared to what you have done only at the range?

Beyond just the always-present possibility of dumping the magazine due to stress-induced mishandling of the gun, environmental factors can come into play. I know of an instance in which a police officer experienced the base plate of the magazine in the gun getting ripped off by the seatbelt as he hastily exited the vehicle. This is less likely to happen to a gun under concealment, but there are other factors as well. I have seen people draw their guns at the range, and the magazine immediately hit the ground because it became unseated while in the holster because the release button got bumped. It can happen.

Contact Distance Fighting
Anyone who has done force-on-force training fighting with simmunitions guns knows how easily they can malfunction when in a contact distance fight. Admittedly, sims guns malfunction more easily than real guns of a quality make. Still, the magazine is often ejected during a struggle. In a real contact distance fight, this is of high likelihood. If you are in a fight and break free of the attacker, you now may be holding a gun with only a single round in it, if not empty. Being able to reload from the belt or pocket is a much better solution than searching around on the ground for a dropped magazine.

While a gun with no reload on body will likely do what is needed if you face violence, a reload may make all the difference, should the unlikely event become even more unlikely. Like the gun itself, the reload is something to have and not need rather than need and not have.

Ohio sees drop in gun crimes across major cities after permitless carry law, study shows

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Contrary to concerns from some local leaders, a new study shows a decrease in gun crimes across six of Ohio’s eight largest cities following the implementation of the state’s “constitutional carry” law.

The research, conducted by the Center for Justice Research (CJR) in partnership with Bowling Green State University, analyzed data from June 2021 to June 2023, covering a year before and after the law went into effect in June 2022.

It focused on crimes involving firearms, verified gunshot-detection alerts, and the number of officers struck by gunfire.

The findings revealed:

  • Overall Decline: Across all eight cities, the rate of gun crimes decreased.
  • Significant Drops: Parma experienced the most significant decline (22%), followed by Akron and Toledo (both 18%).
  • Mixed Trends: Dayton and Cincinnati saw increases in gun crime rates (6% and 5%, respectively).

“This is not to downplay the very real problem of gun violence in our cities,” noted Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who commissioned the study. “But the key takeaway here is that we need to focus on criminals, not responsible gun owners.”

He acknowledged concerns expressed by several mayors before the study, stating, “I genuinely did not know what the study would find. I thought it would be useful either way.”

CJR Director Melissa Burek, a Doctor of Criminal Justice, led the research.

She emphasized the importance of examining the impact of policy changes: “This study helps us understand the complex picture of crime rates and policy implementation. It’s valuable data for informing future decisions.”

The findings add to the ongoing debate surrounding permitless carry laws, challenging concerns that such laws would lead to a surge in gun violence.

While proponents highlight responsible gun ownership and increased self-defense, critics argue it removes valuable safety measures like background checks and training.

Further research and analysis are needed to fully understand the long-term implications of Ohio’s permitless carry law and its impact on various factors influencing crime rates.

Continued Massacres of Christians in Nigeria Ensured by Citizen Disarmament

“A never-ending massacre of Christians being ‘killed for sport’ is reportedly happening in Nigeria, yet the world appears to be largely deaf to the matter,” Fox News reported Saturday. “More than 52,000 Christians ‘have been butchered or hacked to death for being Christians’ since 2009 in Nigeria, according to Intersociety, a civil society group based in Onitsha.”

“Christians are killed for sport, especially Christian children,” Rev. Johnnie Moore, a former commissioner for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and president of the Congress of Christian Leaders told Fox. “Entire villages are burnt and pillaged. Thousands of churches have been destroyed. Children and women are hunted.

Continue reading “”

Improve Your Shooting: The 50-Round Skill Sustainment Course of Fire

In case you didn’t already know it, if you don’t continue to shoot over time, you will slowly lose your shooting skills. Ammunition is more reasonable that it was a couple of years ago, but you still want to make the most of your training dome and dollars. How do you maintain your skill set without burning through a lot of ammunition? Simple: take your time and make every shot a count.

Dry fire practice at home is a great way to keep your skills sharp. If you add a Mantis X training system, that’s even better. Travis Pike gave the Mantis five stars and Jeremy gave it four. Yes, it runs over $200 or about the price of 250 rounds of 9mm ammo. I haven’t formally reviewed my own personally-owned unit, in part because I haven’t used it as much as I’d like yet. At the same time I’ve used it enough that I strongly recommend it for new and experienced shooters alike.

Even at that, though, no matter how much dry fire and Mantis X practice you complete, everyone needs real, live-fire handgun practice.

Here’s a suggested fifty-round course of fire to maintain keep the skill sets you’ve acquired through past training and practice sharp. You should use something small, like a 3×5 index card or a 3″ circle at three to five yards.

Remember, aim small miss small. If you keep all fifty rounds on the target, move back to ten or fifteen yards and repeat (if you have enough gun food). Continue reading “”

A Home Invasion That Failed: And it failed because the invadees had done their homework beforehand.

Here is a story that was recently shared with me. Dave and Susie (not their real names) were watching television in a room just off the main hallway near their front door. Suddenly, they heard a noise as if someone was trying to kick in their heavy wood front door accompanied with the shouts of “Police Officers…Open Up!”  At the same time, from the same direction, they could hear other people laughing. Feeling certain that this was a home invasion, Dave and Susie went into action.

First, they shoved the heavy couch they had been sitting on over to block the closed door of their room. Dave took a 9mm pistol (I don’t know what kind) off the side table and got next to a large wooden bookcase that gave him some cover and allowed him to keep an eye on the door. Susie got in a far corner, behind a heavy chair and began to call 9-1-1 on her cell phone. Neither one of them said a word, instead using hand signals to communicate.

Shortly after that, the criminals got the front door open and started down the hall. One of them tried the door to the TV room and, when he felt that it was blocked, gave it a shove, moving the couch slightly and allowing him to open the door about a foot. Dave said he could clearly see that the intruder was not a police officer and could also see that the thug had a pistol in his hand. Dave fired two shots and saw the thug drop the gun and collapse. They then heard sounds that indicated that the others had run back out the front door.

Dave and Susie then held their positions until the 9-1-1 dispatcher told Susie that a uniformed officer was at the front door. At which time, Dave put is pistol down on a table and the couple spoke up to the officer and moved the couch away from the door.

A short time later, two crooks in a stolen car were arrested nearby. It is thought that they were the partners to the deceased home invader.

I like the way Dave and Susie handled this attack. It appears that they must have discussed home invasions and developed a plan. Not responding verbally to the home invaders kept the crooks wondering where their victims might actually be located. And blocking the door with the couch caused their attacker to focus on that chore instead of keeping his full attention focused on looking for victims. Susie gets points for maintaining an open line of communications with the 9-1-1 dispatcher. And Dave was also very smart to put his gun down and meet the police officer with empty hands. Latest reports are that police investigators see no legal problems for Dave & Susie and, in addition, a series of other home invasions may be cleared by this shooting and the subsequent arrests.

Have a plan…keep your wits about you…and don’t give up.