Articles by semperverus

Active Killer Advice Compendium

A valuable online reference resource is the Active Killer Advice Compendium on the Active Response Training website.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A List of Active Killer Incidents at Houses of Worship and Religious Schools ]

The website’s owner, retired police officer Greg Ellifritz, says, “People want to know what tactics and strategies will help them prevail should they be present during an active killer attack in a public place. I’ve been writing about the topic for almost two decades. Other folks have been studying the problem for even longer than that. I’ve written 400 articles about active killer attacks. I’ve linked to over 1000 more articles on the same topic written by other authors. This is a compilation of the best of all that writing.”

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The Heavy, Long Gun That Won the American Revolutionary War

Malnourished, ill-clothed, and under-paid: it is astonishing to consider the level of commitment to liberty exhibited by Colonial Militia and Minutemen and Continental Army soldiers slogging hundreds of miles for 8 years in sweltering and freezing weather to finally win the American Revolutionary War against the British Empire, the most powerful land and naval military force in the world at the time.

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CCW Safe Lessons: How, When, and Why to Use a Firearm Lawfully

CCW Safe is the self-defense legal coverage membership program that connects members with a criminal defense attorney and helps pay for legal expenses involved in a court case following a self-defense incident. It also provides educational resources on the topic of self-defense.

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of INTRODUCTION TO FIREARMS ]

One resource is The Armed Defender’s Dilemma. This 36-video-and-written series teaches legal and tactical lessons compiled from more than a decade of real-world court case analysis alongside criminal defense attorney Don West and firearms instructor Steve Moses.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 4 Basic Rules of Gun Safety ]

Released one a month for the next 36 months, the series emphasizes that self-defense includes understanding how, when, and why to use a firearm lawfully. The lessons encourage a mindset rooted in restraint, preparation, and the ability to disengage rather than escalate, exploring the judgment and split-second decisions that determine the eventual legal outcome.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law ]

Developed by self-defense litigation expert Shawn Vincent, the debut episode shown below, titled, “The Goal of Self-Defense is to Break Contact,” explores why awareness, de-escalation, and less-lethal options give armed defenders more control. It’s a clear reminder that breaking contact isn’t weakness; it’s the smartest, most defensible strategy for surviving both the fight and its legal aftermath.

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Americans’ Religious Affiliations if the US Were 100 People

If the United States consisted of only 100 people, 62 of them would be people who self-identify as Christian, according to a new Pew Research Center study, based on the 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study. Another 29 people would be religiously unaffiliated (atheists, agnostics, or people who identify religiously as “nothing in particular.”) And seven would identify with non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Free Online Educational Resources to Grow Your Spiritual Knowledge ]

According to a study by Gallup, the percentage of Americans now identifying as Christian is similar to those of Western and Northern European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, and Denmark, nations with strong Protestant traditions. Yet religion continues to play a larger role in daily life for Americans than for people in those countries.

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