Including ... Fact-based Decision Making • President's Message • Attorney Question of the Month • Book Review • Networking • Editorial• About this Journal
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Fact-based Decision Making
An Interview with Attorney Peter Georgiades
Interview by Gila Hayes
Pennsylvania attorney Peter Georgiades was one of the earliest attorneys to join forces with the Network, and has proven himself a staunch supporter, being available to Network members as their go-to attorney after self defense, and contributing regularly to our monthly Attorney Question of the Month column. In discussing a recent question column, Mr. Georgiades expressed concern about the scare tactics used in defensive firearms training, and elsewhere, to convince students that any defensive gun use results in criminal prosecution. That is not true, he emphasized, and said he believes indoctrination of that sort creates hesitation and an attitude of helplessness. “Almost no firearms training with which I am familiar addresses the decision-making process in a manner I find to be consistent with the law and the practicalities of proving a case. Many do not address the issue at all.”
President's Message
by Marty Hayes, J.D.
I am pleased to report that currently, we have no members facing criminal charges for acts of self defense. This past month the two cases for which we were funding the defense were dismissed.
In the first–a case where a member was being assaulted and successfully used pepper spray to stop the attack–the member was arrested and charged with a felony crime. This was in a liberal Eastern seaboard state, where apparently the private citizen has no right to protect himself.
Attorney Question of the Month
This month, we start a new topic of discussion with our affiliated attorneys. We asked–
Suppose that a member keeps an extensive collection of legal rifles, shotguns and handguns locked in a safe, and uses his or her carry gun in justifiable self defense.
Can the gun collection be discussed in a trial to suggest to a jury that the armed citizen is a blood thirsty monster, not a good member of the community?
How would a prosecutor or plaintiff’s attorney introduce that line of reasoning? If defending the member, how would you counter the accusation if it arose?
Book Review
Urban Rifle
45 Years of Teaching and Training
By Clint Smith
Copyright June 23, 2016
138 pages, illustrated, $24.95 at https://thunderranchinc.com/product/urban-rifle-book/
Reviewed by Gila Hayes
It has been years since I’ve been able to take a class from Clint Smith, so I was really pleased to discover his book on rifles for defense. Introducing the topic, Smith observes that the convenience of handguns, plus an American history of carrying them, blinds us to their limits. He adds, “If we all truly understood the role of a handgun in the chain of fighting tools we would all be more aware of just how poor a choice it is; hence the rifle.” He cites the devastation Platt and Maddox wrecked in Miami in 1986, the Hollywood bank robbery in 1997, and Christopher Dorner’s 2013 rampage through Southern CA as illustrations of why a rifle is so desirable when a quick stop to hostilities is required.
News from Our Affiliates
by Josh Amos
Hello folks! Well, fall is here and many of us are winding up the summer’s training season and catching up on our reading, amongst other things. If you’re doing your reading online, you may come across websites, blogs or articles about the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network. If the information is incorrect, please let me know, I’ll take it from there. We had a situation a few weeks ago when we were alerted to a website that had posted incorrect information about us. However, when we contacted the site owner, he was glad to make the corrective changes and repost for us. That was a big win for everyone! So if you see something that you think is amiss, call me at 360-978-5200 or drop me a line at
Vacation
This past week my bosses decided that they needed a break from me, so they sent me on vacation. I ventured out to Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding areas. Words and even pictures can’t adequately describe the scenery at Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. I cannot recommend visiting there strongly enough. Oh, and if you do go, let me suggest the following travel tip: if you round a bend and meet a buffalo standing in the road, the buffalo has the right of way!
Editor's Notebook
by Gila Hayes
It is natural to want the world to conform to our wishes and desires. That innate urge receives excessive encouragement from self-help and personal-growth coaches who urge all and sundry to, “Go out and get what you want. Make it yours. Do not stop until you have what you want.” I think the better life skill is found in knowing when that for which we wish is attainable and how to adjust when our wishes can’t or won’t be granted.It is natural to want the world to conform to our wishes and desires. That innate urge receives excessive encouragement from self-help and personal-growth coaches who urge all and sundry to, “Go out and get what you want. Make it yours. Do not stop until you have what you want.” I think the better life skill if found in knowing when that for which we wish is attainable and how to adjust when our wishes can’t or won’t be granted.
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.