Including ... Featured Articles • President's Messages • Attorney Questions of the Month • Book Reviews
Featured
The Gunsite Experience: Marty talks about attending training at Gunsite in Arizona. (Dec 2016)
Psychological Aftermath of Justifiable Homicide. An Interview with Andy Brown. Brown tells about the day in 1994 when he stopped a mass shooter, and the aftermath and struggles he went through from the experience. (Nov 2016)
Legal Aftermath of Road Rage. An Interview with Jim Fleming. How to avoid a Road Rage incident, and what to do (and NOT do) if you are involved in one. (Oct 2016)
Lessons in Civil Liability. An Interview with Attorney Emanuel Kapelsohn. Do you need to be worried about a civil lawsuit if you shoot someone in self-defense? (Sep 2016)
Family Concerns for Armed Citizens. An Interview with Massad Ayoob. What conversations should the armed citizen have with his/her family to prepare them for the aftermath of a self-defense incident? (Aug 2016)
Guns and Gear for Self Defense. An Interview with Vicki and John Farnam. Interesting, non-typical advice about guns and gear for new shooters. (Jul 2016)
Self Defense in the House of God. An Interview with Tom and Lynn Givens. Discussion about the moral and common-sense, realistic ideas of carrying in church. (Jun 2016)
The Armed Citizen's Secret Weapon for Court by Marty Hayes, J.D. Marty reveals the best secret weapon an armed citizen can have if they ever need to go to court after a self-defense situation. (May 2016)
Getting More Out of Training. An Interview with Mike Seeklander. Expert advice on how to expand your training in a variety of ways on a variety of topics and a variety of self-defense methods. (May 2016)
Member Commentary by Mike Wood. by Mike Wood.Mental awareness and preparation, good tactics, and personal skill and competence with your equipment (in that order) all rate much higher than your choice of gear. (May 2016)
Non-Gun Weapons: Carried and Improvised. An Interview with Michael Janich. Fascinating discussion on various improvised weapons and how to actually use them. (Apr 2016)
Surviving an Active Shooter. An Interview with Michael Janich. Discussion on the definition of an active shooter incident, how often armed citizens stop shooters, what we need to be concerned with as armed citizens, and more. (Mar 2016)
The Network: With You at Home and On the Road. How to obtain Network assistance at home after a self-defense incident, and what you should do to prepare in case of travel. (Feb 2016)
Against Physical Attack. An Interview with Guy Rossi. Rossi answers the question, "If countering an assailant using purely physical force, how can we justify using a gun in self defense?" (Jan 2016)
President's Message
President's Message: A little politics. Ammo and training. SHOT Show. Marty on TV and YouTube. (Dec 2016)
President's Message: Gun Safety and Reloading. Negligent v. Accidental v. Unintentional Discharges. (Nov 2016)
President's Message: Do you practice safe gun handling? We are just human beings... (Oct 2016)
President's Message: The true story of truck driver, Paul Lathrop's legal ordeal. Membership and legal defense fund grows. (Sep 2016)
President's Message: Politics as it pertains to the right to keep and bear arms. Whom to Vote for? The Lesser of Two Evils? It's All About Power. On the Local Front. (Aug 2016)
President's Message: The Joys of Travel. Knife Defense Education. No Fluff, No Puffery. (Jul 2016)
President's Message: Report from the NRA Meeting. We Were Not Alone... Good News for The Best Defense Fans. (Jun 2016)
President's Message: New Goals Met. Who Comprises the Network? More About Training. (May 2016)
President's Message: Things to be aware of when choosing an affiliate attorney. Rangemaster Tactical Conference. Us v. Them. (Apr 2016)
President's Message: Rangemaster Tactical Conference. The Network Keeps Growing. The best TV Show Now Running! Getting Ready for NRA Annual Meeting. (Mar 2016)
President's Message: Gravitas and the Network. (Feb 2016)
President's Message: Do you have the right to resist police if you are protesting? The Best Defense and the Network. The Network Crew Goes to SHOT Show. (Jan 2016)
Attorney Question
Attorney Question of the Month: How would affiliate attorneys advise a member who called to say he had an unintentional discharge that may have hit his neighbor's house? (Dec 2016 - Part 2)(Nov 2016 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: If a gun owner carries a handgun into a prohibited area (designated by statute or signage) and is involved in a self-defense shooting, would the fact the gun owner violated the law by carrying the gun into a prohibited area be admissible as to the mens rea of the shooter? For example, a gun owner in Texas (with a license to carry and carrying a concealed firearm) knowingly passes a clearly displayed sign prohibiting guns, which meets the statutory requirements. At this point, the gun owner has committed a Class C misdemeanor. Now suppose that same gun owner uses the gun in self defense. Is the fact the gun owner violated the armed trespass law admissible to the finder of fact in determining an element to murder or manslaughter? (Oct 2016 - Part 2)(Sep 2016 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: Does the court always consider the knife a deadly weapon? Are there possible situations in which a person defending him- or herself with a knife might NOT be viewed as attempting to kill another? (Aug 2016 - Part 2) (Jul 2016 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: If an armed citizen shoots and kills someone who threatened them with violence (and it is apparent that the criminal is dead) what if anything should the armed citizen say to police when they arrive? (Jun 2016 - Part 2) (May 2016 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: Assuming that the defender has just needed to shoot an attacker in self defense, and the attacker is alive and talking, telling his side of the story to police, what are the issues influencing whether or not the armed defender should give a statement to police in order to counter the statement being given by the wounded attacker? (Apr 2016) (Mar 2016 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: If a Network member has threatened to use force in self defense up to and including display of a firearm without shooting, what should he or she say or not say to responding law enforcement officers? (Feb 2016 - Part 2) (Jan 2016 - Part 1)
Book/DVD Reviews
Book Review: Blind-Sided: Homicide Where It Is Least Expected by Gregory K. Moffatt. The author dives into mass murderers and why they do it, and tips for signs for you to be watchful for. (Dec 2016)
Book Review: Warnings Unheeded: Twin Tragedies at Fairchild Air Force Base by Andy Brown, SSgt, USAF, Ret. Details of the signs that were ignored, the events as they happened, and the authors response and experiences afterwards. (Nov 2016)
Book Review: Reasonable, Justified and Necessary: Exploring the Professional, Physical and Psychological Complexities of Deadly Force by Dan Bernoulli. While primarily focused on police use of deadly force, many lessons can be applied to civilians. (Oct 2016)
Book Review: Surviving a Mass Killer Rampage: When Seconds Count, Police Are Still Minutes Away by Chris Bird. Bird debunks the media-fueled myth that having a gun is of little use when a killer attacks a crowd. (Sep 2016)
Book Review: The Second Amendment and the American Gun: Evolution and Development of a Right Under Siege by Jim Fleming. Education about the Bill of Rights and the importance of the Second Amendent as ongoing attacks continue from multiple fronts. (Aug 2016)
Book Review: Infringed by Alexandria Kincaid. Concise explanation of how laws are created, passed or nullified, how they are interpreted, and much more. (Jul 2016)
Book Review: What They Don't Tell You About Church Safety by Bryan Donihue. How violent events at other churches led the author to create a safety team for his church, and all the components that go into making the decision and preparing the team. (Jun 2016)
Book Review: Calling the Shots: Self-Protection and Firearm Choices That Work for You by Jenna Meek. An intro to mentoring women new to owning firearms. (May 2016)
Book Review: Facing the Active Shooter: Guidelines for the Armed Citizen, 2nd revision 2015 by CR Williams. Mental preparation and scenarios for various active shooter situations. (May 2016)
CD Audio Lecture Review: Serious Mistakes Gunowners Make. Real Life Examples of How They Get Into Trouble to Prevent It. An audio lecture by Claude Werner. Werner identifies 11 types of mistakes gun owners make all too regularly. This lecture speaks to serious errors like shooting yourself or the wrong person, being shot by police, being needlessly arrested even though your actions were justifiable or leaving guns where children can get them, to name only a few. (Apr 2016)
Seminar Review: The Law of Self Defense by Andrew Branca. Branca is a skilled public speaker who keeps the student audience engaged with a multi-media presentation, real life examples, question and answer sessions, all the while keeping to a tight schedule and making every minute in the seminar worthwhile. (Mar 2016)
Book Review: Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life by Jason A. Riley and Patrick Van Horne. Using Marine combat profiling to study human behavior in every day life to watch for warning signs of criminal behavior. (Feb 2016)
Book Review: First Defense: Anxiety and Instinct for Self Protection by David Hopkins, PhD. What if we embraced anxiety as a useful tool, if put to its best and highest use? What if we learned to make anxiety work for us instead of against us? (Jan 2016)