Including ... Featured Articles • President's Messages • Attorney Questions of the Month • Book Reviews
Featured
Kapelsohn Joins Network Advisory Board. Kapelsohn’s career in the law has focused on firearms and use of force issues, from both the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s viewpoints is a powerful addition to the Network. (Dec 2012)
The Next Generation of Gun Owners. An Interview with Ryan Gresham. Interested in how to involve younger gun owners in armed self-defense preparation, I recently queried third-generation armed citizen Ryan Gresham ofGunTalk TV about young adults and firearms ownership. (Nov 2012)
Gun Choices and Juries. An Interview with Glenn Meyer, Ph.D. Academic studies are often cited to attack gun ownership, but one researcher and tenured professor has raised his voice for gun rights, researching and giving presentations to his peers in the psychological sciences that counter anti-gun conclusions. (Oct 2012)
Managing the 9-1-1 Call. An Interview with Massad Ayoob. Concerned that armed citizens are being confused by warnings about self-incrimination, I asked Massad Ayoob, a leader in citizen education about post-incident issues, for guidance about reporting self-defense incidents to law enforcement. (Sep 2012)
Firearms Training: Asset or Liability? An Interview with Emanuel Kapelsohn. Attorney, instructor and firearms expert Emanuel Kapelsohn has generously agreed to help us sort out the thorny question of discussing firearms training during courtroom defense of an armed citizen who has been forced to defend him- or herself. (Aug 2012)
Armed Defense Skill Priorities. An Interview with Tom Givens. "People who just buy a gun and put it in the sock drawer and think, “Well, now I’m safe because I’ve got a gun,” really have not thought the problem through. Jeff Cooper once said you are no more a musician because you bought a piano, than you are a gunman because you bought a gun. " (Jul 2012)
Maintaining Pistol Skills: Learning from Dave Spaulding. How to maintain and enhance shooting skill is of particular interest to Dave Spaulding, retired law enforcement officer, firearms instructor and popular author.(Jun 2012)
Defending Self Defense. An Interview with Attorney Mitch Vilos. Utah trial attorney James “Mitch” Vilos, a Network Affiliated Attorney, is author of one of the best selling books on self-defense laws ever presented to a national audience. In Self-Defense Laws of All 50 States, Vilos analyzes the self-defense laws of each state, as well as including a number of chapters of more general information for armed citizens seeking knowledge that will keep them on the right side of the law. (May 2012)
Appropriate Guns and Training. An Interview with Claude Werner. Learn more about Werner's teaching outreach and some of his non-traditional approaches to defense preparation. (Apr 2012)
The Truth About Stand Your Ground Laws. An Interview with Affiliated Attorney, Steven M. Harris. Harris helps us understand these laws. (Apr 2012)
Threat Assessment for the Armed Citizen by Tom Givens. The term “threat assessment” is often thrown around by people in discussions about firearms or training. Unfortunately, this is often used as nothing more than an excuse to not carry adequate equipment or to train less. For many people, there are three fallacies involved in any discussion of threat assessment, so let’s examine those issues. (Mar 2012)
Balancing Dangers. An Interview with John Farnam. Instruction on how to make a personal threat assessment to determine what parts of your life require higher levels of vigilance to avoid or survive danger. (Feb 2012)
Competition, Self Defense and the Law by Marty Hayes, J.D. Will competition help, or will it hurt the armed citizen as it pertains to the actual use of deadly force in self defense? Let’s explore. (Jan 2012)
President's Message
President's Message: Things we are thankful for at the Network. (Dec 2012)
President's Message: Zimmerman. Stand Your Ground Laws. The Election. (Nov 2012)
President's Message: Ammo supply concerns. (Oct 2012)
President's Message: Can you recruit just one new member to the Network? (Sep 2012)
President's Message: Mass Murder and the Armed Citizen. (Aug 2012)
President's Message: The Network's first Continuing Legal Education seminar for attorneys. (Jul 2012)
President's Message: How the Zimmerman case can affect gun owners. (Jun 2012)
President's Message: Taking personal responsibility to understand what you are purchasing. Understanding the George Zimmerman case. Comments on the NRA Meeting. (May 2012)
President's Message: The story of Douglas Burns. No, Mr. Hayes, You Cannot Testify. Libertarians Rock! (Apr 2012)
President's Message: Boots On the Ground. Who Are Our Network Affiliated Attorneys? (Mar 2012)
President's Message: Zombie Attack!; Should civilian shooters get the same treatment as officer-involved shooting survivors? (Feb 2012)
President's Message: A formal challenge to shoot a match. Rangemaster Tactical Conference; Growth Goal Not Met. (Jan 2012)
Attorney Question
Attorney Question of the Month: Does the law in your area allow shooting an attacking dog? How does the law balance the necessity of stopping a dog attack against ordinances prohibiting shooting in a restricted area? In your area, is it likely that shooting an attacking dog would result in charges? Have you defended clients after this kind of incident? What issues were raised? How do these considerations change if the shooter defends their pet or livestock, instead of human life, against the attacking dog? (Dec 2012) (Nov 2012 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: If a Network member is involved in a self-defense incident, is charged with a crime and goes to trial, how likely is it that the prosecution will try to spin belonging to the Network as planning to shoot someone? What response would you make if you were defending a Network member and opposing counsel tried to discredit your client that way? (Oct 2012) (Sep 2012 - Part 2) (Aug 2012 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: During the investigation phase following an incident of a homeowner shooting a burglar, it is common for police to ask to take custody of ALL the firearms in the residence. Is this common in your jurisdiction, and what do you recommend your clients do or say when confronted with this request? For the purposes of this question, assume all guns other than the one the client used in self defense are locked in a gun safe. (Jul 2012) (Jun 2012 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: Within ethical and moral standards, what can an attorney do to best defend a citizen who has broken a law that restricts his or her civil rights? Do you know of examples in which trial results were favorable to the defendant, despite his or her violation? How does this example apply to armed citizens in states with extremely restrictive gun laws? (May 2012)
Book/DVD Reviews
Book Review: Prosecution Complex. America's Race to Convict and Its Impact on the Innocent by Daniel S. Medwed. A detailed and disturbing book explaining how wrongful convictions occur. (Dec 2012)
Book Review: Scaling Force: Dynamic Decision-Making Under Threat of Violence by Rory Miller and Lawrence A. Kane. Most recognize the ethical mandate to understand use of force law in the context of firearms, but that same responsibility is rarely taught with hand-to-hand techniques. (Nov 2012)
Book Review: Warrior Mindset: Mental Toughness Skills for a Nation's Peacekeepers by Michael J. Asken, Ph.D., Lt. Col. Dave Grossman with Loren W. Christensen. Preventing people who are well trained in fighting techniques from becoming ineffectual when life is on the line. (Oct 2012)
Book Review: Falsely Accused by Marian Hoy. A book about the problem of false accusations at the local level. (Sep 2012)
Book Review: Gun Laws by State. 2012 Edition. By Bryan L. Ciyou, Esq. For the armed citizen who is licensed in his or her state to carry concealed firearms, who also does so via reciprocal license recognition in various other states. (Aug 2012)
DVD Review: The Missing Link by Bill Kipp. Using awareness and verbal skills to keep a situation from devolving into a fight. (Jul 2012)
Book Review: Handgun Combatives. 2nd Edition by Dave Spaulding. A great review and inspiration to experienced shooters, and a good intermediate-level lesson book for those who are newer to the subject. (Jun 2012)
Book Review: The Dirty Dozen. How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom by Robert A. Levy and William Mellor. Key decisions, the constitutional principles affected, the facts of the cases, where the Court went astray and the long-term effects of the decision. (May 2012)
Book Review: Tough Targets by Clayton E. Cramer and David Burnett. The authors quantify defensive gun uses and explain how public opinion is so often skewed by a prejudiced media and studies that either do not uncover the facts or twist them to affirm a popular conclusion. (Apr 2012)
Book Review: The Art of Modern Gun Fighting. The Pistol: Volume 1 by Scott Reitz with Brett McQueen. Read a good gun book lately? I mean a really good one? One filled with war stories about good guys shooting bad guys, and how to do it right? If not, may I make the suggestion that you find a copy of Scott Reitz’s new book, The Art of Modern Gunfighting? (Mar 2012)
Book Review: Deep Survival: Who Lives and Dies and Why by Laurence Gonzales. Deep Survival is an extremely readable treatise about the mental aspects of survival memorably illustrated by adventure stories. (Feb 2012)
Book Review: Practical Home Security. A Guide to Safer Urban Living by Alex Haddox. Discussions of over 70 situations and scenarios that cover the concerns of every citizen who would go armed in this world. (Jan 2012)