Including ...Practicing Awareness • President's Message • Attorney Question • Book Review • Networking • Editorial • About this Journal
Get eJournal PDF: click here
Practicing Awareness
An Interview with Claude Werner
Rarely does life-threatening danger just come “out of the blue.” More often, simple problems escalate into dangers. Approaches by panhandlers and other unknown people may or may not herald violence, so the benefits of observing possible threats and staying out of range cannot be overstated.
With over half a million people considered homeless today, most Network members have had the experience of being surprised by a panhandler and wondered afterwards how they got that close without being noticed and what to do if the stranger had been physically aggressive or violent. A few months ago, the Tactical Professor, Claude Werner, blogged about a benign encounter of this nature and the lessons learned (https://tacticalprofessor.wordpress.com/2017/09/21/keep-your-tape-loops-short/). His comments were a good tune-up and I was very pleased when he agreed to answer additional questions about being aware and avoiding panhandlers and other loiterers. We switch now to our Q&A format so readers can enjoy this chat with Claude, too.
(Photo, right, by Tamara Keel.)
eJournal: I regularly read your Tactical Professor blog because it so often addresses personal safety issues for ordinary people. I was reminded again of how well you teach awareness when you recently blogged about stopping a panhandler from entering your personal space. Through specific situations, you teach your readers about alertness, a topic the review of which will benefit everyone. May we start by defining our nomenclature? Is situational awareness a concept that’s no longer valid?
Werner: Our industry for some reason doesn’t like the term, but situational awareness is a broad term that is used in the aviation industry, in the maritime industry, in firefighting and even in surgical procedures. When we have this broad consensus that situational awareness is a perfectly acceptable term, there’s no reason we shouldn’t use it.
President’s Message
by Marty Hayes, J.D.
This month’s message morphed into the guest editorial in this edition of the eJournal and that was a pretty heavy piece to write. So, let’s have some fun here, okay?
First, as we all know, shooting guns is fun. So, if you haven’t had any fun lately, go do some shooting. A good place to start would be going to an IDPA match. In fact, if you want to come visit the Pacific Northwest, my school is hosting the 2018 Washington State IDPA Championship scheduled for August 11-12. If you are an IDPA member with a current classification, come join us. In fact, the Network is the match sponsor.
If you are not a competition junkie like I am, how about some serious training? I would recommend attending the RangeMaster Tactical Conference in March in Little Rock, AR, but the event is full, with a waiting list. You can still attend RangeMaster Tactical Conference if you travel to the Pacific Northwest, because the Firearms Academy of Seattle will host a RangeMaster Regional Tactical Conference July 27-29, 2018 and there is still room in this one.
Attorney Question of the Month
This month we started a new discussion with our Network affiliated attorneys when we asked:
Can a person who shoots in self defense be held criminally or civilly liable for injuries to an innocent third person, in spite of being justified in the use of deadly force against the attacker?
The responses were many and varied, so we will run the first half of our affiliated attorneys' comments this month and wrap it up next month with the rest of their answers.
Kevin E. J. Regan
The Regan Law Firm, L.L.C.
1821 Wyandotte, Suite 200, Kansas City, MO 64108
816-221-5357
http://reganlawfirm.com/
In the States of Kansas and Missouri where I practice, the answer would be a resounding yes, in certain circumstances.
A self-defense situation does not give an individual the right to disregard the rights of other innocent victims in the vicinity of the wrongdoer.
Book Review
Personal Security:
Preparing for the Unexpected in an Era of Crime and Terrorism
by Richard N. Bradford
CreateSpace, November 24, 2017
180 pages, 6 x 9 softbound, $9.95 at https://www.amazon.com
ISBN-10: 1976324718
Reviewed by Gila Hayes
Several months ago, Ed Lovette, author of Defensive Living and Snubby Revolver, recommended a new book written by an associate with whom he worked while in government employ. I respect Ed enormously, so bookmarked it for reading when I had an open weekend. Since detecting imminent attack and sidestepping it altogether is so preferable to fighting, I wanted to learn danger detection from Ed’s former colleague, much as I had been privileged to learn from Ed several decades ago in an all-too-brief class that left the student wishing for more.
By way of introduction, Bradford comments that personal security instructors tend to teach what they are best at–shooting or hand to hand defenses. Citing crime statistics, he notes, “We believe it is more useful to determine what the threat is likely to be and what skills are necessary to elude that threat.” He adds later, “High speed driving, martial arts, and marksmanship are useful skills–but only after you are aware that there is a threat.”
News from our Affiliates
by Josh Amos
March has arrived and like other spring things, the Armed Citizens' Legal Defense Network is growing.
First, let me get a little business out of the way to help us and our affiliated instructors ease into spring. Last year, with a focus on getting ahead of the pressures of the summer training season, I tried some new procedures for getting needed booklets and coupons out to our affiliated instructors and gun shop owners. Solving affiliates’ summer booklet supply issues early worked so well last spring, that I am going to do more of the same this time around.
If you are a Network affiliate I will be reaching out to you over the next 30 to 60 days to check in to see how your coupon is working and how many booklets you need to introduce your students and customers to the Network through out the summer. I have a lot of great affiliates to talk to, so if you need booklets, brochures or if you need us to reissue your coupon right away, don’t wait for me to call; please call me at 360-978-5200 or email me at
Editor's Notebook
Guest Commentary
by Marty D. Hayes, J.D.
Unless you live on the top of a mountain (or perhaps a similarly situated cave) with no TV, Internet, radio or other means of communication, then you know that there was another shooting at a school, this time in Parkland, Florida. 17 students and staff were shot and killed, and many more injured. In a rare turn of events, the shooter actually was captured alive.
Florida has the death penalty. It should be instructional to see what the shooter says to try to save his own life. Of course, as a result, the liberal media and politically-active left have been making wave after wave of claims and suggestions, all demanding a ban on high capacity semi-automatic weapons, especially rifles. Let’s talk about that.
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.