Including ... Home Defense Shotgun Training Considered from a Legal Perspective • Self-Defense Considerations for a Young Family • President’s Message • Attorney Question • Book Review • Editor's Notebook • About this Journal
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Home Defense Shotgun Training Considered from a Legal Perspective
by Marty Hayes, J.D.
Twelve years ago, Vice President Joe Biden during an interview famously gave the American people some gun advice when asked about Americans owning AR-15s for self-defense. The video clip is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHZ7zXLvOkY .
Of course, savvy gun owners scoffed at his comments when he advised if there was trouble at your home, just go out on the balcony and fire two blasts from a double barrel shotgun.
Now, I agree with Biden that a shotgun in the home is a pretty good go-to weapon for home defense, but there are some real considerations that one must understand if they are going to keep a shotgun for that purpose. This article will discuss those concerns.
Recently, I was fortunate to attend a top-of-the-line defensive shotgun course when Erick Gelhaus (Cougar Mountain Solutions) https://www.cougarmountainsolutions.com/ was invited to The Firearms Academy of Seattle (FAS) to teach a course. It was just too good of an opportunity to get a refresher in shotgun use. I taught defensive shotgun courses myself for years when I ran FAS, but it had been quite a long time since I did any serious training with the shotgun, and I was as rusty as a shotgun barrel left out in the rain. (Shotguns are notorious for their propensity to rust.)
Self-Defense Considerations for a Young Family
An Interview with Alex Ooley
by Gila Hayes
The Network team attends conventions for the joy of talking with our people. Earlier this year, I took advantage of traveling to Atlanta, GA for the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting to catch up with Network Affiliated Attorney Alex Ooley and ask him about the adaptations and self-defense preparations armed citizens face as they become new parents. If you enjoy streaming video, there’s longer, informal version of our interview on this topic at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRLHUz7Ju44 .
eJournal: I’m pleased to have the opportunity to again learn from you, Alex. Last year, you shared insights about teaching self-defense preparation to people in the 30-something age cohort (https://armedcitizensnetwork.org/reaching-young-armed-citizens). This year, we have a great reason to explore a new set of concerns affecting preparation and self defense because you are now a father! This raises new concerns. Now, it’s not just you and your wife taking care of yourselves. Now, there are three of you and the little one didn’t arrive fully capable of taking care of himself. I’d love it if you could share some of the lessons and the concerns that arise as young armed citizens first become parents.
President’s Message
by Marty Hayes, J.D.
Just a short message to go along with the lead article in this month’s eJournal. We have just witnessed the United States bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities, destroying the Iranian capability to develop a nuclear weapon. There is no doubt in my mind that if Iran could have developed an atomic weapon, they would already have used it against Isreal, and just possibly against the United States. Unfortunately, this does not end the threat against the U.S.
Attorney Question of the Month
It is very common for gun owners to also carry knives they may use as defensive weapons where gun possession is prohibited, or as a back up against gun malfunction during a self-defense emergency. As a result, members often ask questions about knives for self defense. For our attorney question column, we asked our affiliated attorneys these questions –
In your area, what laws apply to carrying a knife?
Book Review
Live Ready
A Guide to Protecting Yourself In An Uncertain World
By Sam Rosenberg
ISBN 978-1960378149
eBook, $9.08, $3.05 softbound on Amazon.com, 408 pages
Reviewed by Gila Hayes
John Steinbeck’s famous observation that, “The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental,” echoes across every page of the book I studied this month. The author’s approach is right, in my opinion, for several reasons.
Editor’s Notebook
by Gila Hayes
A couple of months ago, in May, we had a very fun video interview with Michael Bane about the value of competitive shooting. Now that summer is well and truly underway, I hope more of our members are getting out to shooting events. After we published that interview, several Network members shared their thoughts about shooting matches and I find in their examples the strongest inspiration to participate in shooting events, whether that entails a return to matches after a long absence or starting the shooting sports for the first time ever.
About this Journal
The eJournal of the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc. is published monthly on the Network’s website at http://armedcitizensnetwork.org/our-journal. Content is copyrighted by the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, Inc.
Do not mistake information presented in this online publication for legal advice; it is not. The Network strives to assure that information published in this journal is both accurate and useful. Reader, it is your responsibility to consult your own attorney to receive professional assurance that this information and your interpretation or understanding of it is accurate, complete and appropriate with respect to your particular situation.