Articles with training

The 4 Basic Rules of Gun Safety

An image of the four gun safety rules

Col. Jeff Cooper (1920–2006) was a US Marine, the creator of the modern technique of handgun shooting, and an expert on the use and history of small arms. He introduced the concept of the mental alertness color code which indicates the degree of peril a person is willing to act upon and which facilitates a person to move from one level of mindset to another (situational awareness) to enable the person to properly handle a given situation.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Checklist: Matters to Consider When Deciding on a Handgun ]

As a way of encouraging universal firearm safety, Col. Cooper also advocated a simple 4-point set of rules anyone can understand:

  1. EVERY gun is loaded until proven otherwise.
  2. Point the muzzle ONLY at what you want to destroy.
  3. Put your finger on the trigger ONLY when you’re ready to fire.
  4. KNOW your target and what’s behind and around it.

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Church Shooting Analysis Reports

A killer murdered two people during the morning service at West Freeway Church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas December 29, 2019. He was about to kill a third person and probably more congregants when he was fatally shot in the skilled self-defense maneuver by Jack Wilson, a volunteer member of the church security team who undoubtedly saved many lives. The murderer’s six-second terror spree and the armed civilian’s rescue were video recorded. Here is a collection of links to resources examining the event to arrive at lessons learned for future self-defense and church security planning:

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The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law

Attorney Andrew Branca has distilled the self-defense laws in all USA 50 states. He says, “There are at most 5 elements to any self-defense case (and often not even that many). That’s true in every one of the 50 states, and all US territories.”

[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of the SELF-DEFENSE ]

Be sure you adhere to them if you believe you are honestly and reasonably confronted by a situation where you need to prevent an immediate, otherwise unavoidable danger of death, great bodily harm (generally considered a crippling or disfiguring injury), or, in some states, sexual assault to yourself or another innocent person you have the right to protect.

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

Buy the book The Law of Self Defense, 3rd Edition through this affiliate link with Amazon

 

The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law are:

  • Innocence
  • Imminence (ability, opportunity, jeopardy [manifest intent])
  • Proportionality
  • Avoidance
  • Reasonableness (subjective and objective)

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Situational Awareness Skills: Teaching Kids Observation Skills

On The Women’s Outdoor News website, this article suggests using games to help teach children to be aware of their surroundings.

These games take place when were out-and-about, especially when traveling. My boys are 21- and 22-years-old, and we still partake in them from time-to-time.

  • Soon after being seated on an airplane, I ask my boys to close their eyes. I then ask them to tell me where the nearest exit is, and how many other exits there are.
  • Part way through dinner at a restaurant we’ve never visited, I ask them to look down at the table. Then I ask where the nearest exit is – besides the one we came in through. I also ask them to describe some of the people sitting around us.

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