Compiled by Gila Hayes
A big thank you to all of our affiliates and friends who came by for a visit at the Network’s booth at the NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits a few weeks ago. It is so nice to put faces with names, to have the chance to talk out questions that have arisen and to learn about what our affiliates do.
The other really positive thing that happened in Nashville at the NRA meeting was the chance to meet and discuss the Network’s mission with NRA member attorneys who were attending the event.
New contacts that have borne fruit include a new Affiliated Attorney in the District of Columbia, Stephen Sulzer. I enjoyed speaking extensively by phone with Mr. Sulzer after the meeting and am pleased to tell our members in the District and bordering states that he is onboard with the Network and shares our enthusiasm for supporting members after self defense. To learn how to contact him or other Network Affiliated Attorneys, members need to log in to www.armedcitizensnetwork.org, then select the link marked Affiliated Attorneys, which is the second link from the top in the menu box on the right side of the Members webpage.
During the NRA Annual Meeting, we also met and set up an affiliation with attorney Charles Bobbitt of nearby Hendersonville, TN, and are proud to welcome Mr. Bobbitt as a new Affiliated Attorney. Members, we are always looking for gun-friendly defense attorneys whom we can invite to share our passion for defending Network members after self defense. If you would like to recommend a criminal defense attorney of your acquaintance, please send me an email (
Doing just that, our Affiliated Instructor Jim Trockman stopped by to visit when we were in Nashville, and among the topics on his agenda was the recommendation of an attorney he holds in high regard who practices in Evansville, IN. In addition, right before we headed out to Nashville, a number of Network members and Affiliated Instructors responded to a special inquiry I put out asking for recommendations for gun-friendly defense attorneys in WI. As a result, we are delighted to extend a very warm welcome to attorney Thomas Grieve who practices in Brookfield, WI. Members, this is Networking at its best, so if you have a recommendation, please don’t wait, send it over to me.
Thomas Berry of Defensive Handgun Enterprises, in Kansas City, MO has one of his special Tactical Handgun classes scheduled this month, with the classroom element taught on the evening of May 12 and the range instruction the following Saturday, May 16th. In this program, Tom introduces students to tactical shooting and self-defense techniques and notes that he also sees skilled students joining the class for practice and to refresh skills under his tutelage.
“Self defense with a handgun is a perishable skill and needs to be practiced frequently,” Tom explains. Range exercises are conducted on steel and paper targets, and drills include fighting while exiting a vehicle as well as a class competition. For further details, see his website at http://www.defensivehandgunenterprises.com or email him at
Take a look at the webpage Steve Bischoff built for his business, BoJax Shooting School in Bluffton, SC. It is a great looking website and we really appreciate his inclusion of the Network in his organization links right on the front page at http://www.bojaxshooting.com. It is also fun to see how many of our other Network members figure prominently in his picture gallery–John Farnam and Tom Givens to name only a few. Steve teaches the program required to get your SC concealed weapon permit on the first weekend of every month, and can also teach gun safety, basic pistol, combat pistol, close range gun fighting, defensive carbine, shotgun, skills development for competition and more. For details, call Steve at 843-757-7272 or use the contact form on his website.
Justin d-Brantingham of RAM Defense in northwest MN recently got more of our Foundation’s booklet What Every Gun Owner Needs to Know About Self-Defense Law for his concealed carry students. Learn more about Justin’s efforts at http://www.ramdefense.com or browse the posts on his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RAMDefenseLLC or give Justin a call to schedule a class at 218-452-0092. He’s got a MN concealed carry license class coming up later this month on May 23rd and is available for private lessons. In addition to concealed carry licensing classes he can provide NRA Pistol and NRA Refuse to be a Victim programs, too.
Network Affiliated Instructors Robyn and Jeff Street have turned Step by Step Gun Training into quite a diversified business over the past few years. Their unrelenting focus on gun safety and training to build firearms skills continues through their classes, whether that is their dry fire sessions or women’s programs or low light and other tactical drills and experiences. If you’re in the Naples, FL area, get to know Robyn and Jeff at http://stepbystepguntraining.com.
Over in UT, Network members will find their fellow member Paul White operating My Favorite Gun Store in Richmond, UT. Paul is also a cabinet maker, but he loves guns and enjoys teaching folks in his community gun safety and how to shoot well. His concealed carry permit classes are priced reasonably, and all he needs is for you to round up at least five people and he can put together a class for your group. Learn more about Paul at http://www.myfavoritegunstore.com/Home_Page.html or email him at
Randy Wilson and his team at Central Defense Group teach both the 16-hour Illinois Concealed Carry training requirement, but also an introduction to pistol that is appropriate for beginners who just want to become familiar with firearms. They’re located in Galesburg, IL and have lots of information on their website at centraldefensegroup.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CentralDefenseGroup.
Robert and Robin Keating, under the aegis of Empowerment Firearms Training, LLC. in Ft. Worth, TX teach a variety of courses ranging from the TX concealed handgun license class, to beginning handgunning, an introduction to shooting IDPA, defensive handgunning fundamentals and a class entitled The Responsible Armed Citizen, that promises “insight into the practical, legal, and ethical issues that face the armed citizen,” through an exploration of equipment selection, aftermath issues, use of force law and “factors the responding police officers, prosecutors, and jury members will use to determine the reasonableness of your actions.” Details are at http://www.empowermentfirearmstraining.com/index.php/training.
Network member Al LaBiche recently alerted us to the fact that he is certified to teach the Mississippi concealed carry license training, which he offers as an eight-hour course during which he gives students copies of our Foundation’s booklet. For info about training, call Big Al at 662-401-0983 for appointments and pricing or read more at http://bigalsauto.com/big-als-pistol-training/.
Ron Terenzi at Home Defense Solutions in Bristol, ME is an avid supporter of the Network. You can’t beat the kind of personal endorsement of the Network that he gives his clientele at http://www.hdssports.com/armed-citizens-legal-defense-network-i-62.html in which he urges the reader to go to the Network website and learn about the importance of membership. “You’ll thank me later!” he advises his clients. He teaches courses in both hand-to-hand defenses, firearms safety, the UT non-resident concealed carry license training, defense shotgun skills, close quarters shooting and more. See http://www.hdssports.com/training-i-56.html and if you’re in this far northeast corner of our great nation, get to know Ron and his crew, whether for training or to shop his gun counter.
David Baird’s outreach on behalf of the Network is split between his monthly home firearms safety classes (http://www.idcfirearms.com/training.html), which fulfill the MA licensing training requirement, and contact with folks who come in to IDC Firearms for a new or used gun or any of the myriad accessories for which armed citizens are always looking. With a substantial gun counter, the buyer should be able to find what he or she needs! If you are in the Clinton, MA area, stop by and get to know Baird and his crew, and support a fellow Network member who is supporting all of us in the Network by bringing in new members.
Affiliates, please
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