I was saddened to hear the news about the church shooting in Tennessee.  I'm very glad that Mr. Engle was there to stop the shooter and had a gun in the car.  I'm pretty sure that he will be carrying his gun in church from now on.

Have you ever thought of carrying a gun in church?  Some Christians may not think this would seem very Christian.  I read an awesome book on this very subject several years ago called "Shooting Back" by Charl Van Wyk.  Mr. Wyk single-handedly stopped terrorists from attacking his church.  This book tells the story of the attack and investigates why he believes Christians should defend themselves. I highly recommend this book!

I'm not looking to be a hero.  But if I end-up in a mass shooting situation, I want the ability to defend myself and my family. ​

Cleveland Taco Bell employees shot and killed a man attempting to rob the store last week.  The story says two men came into the store in ski masks and armed with handguns at 3 AM and ordered everyone on the ground.  Three employees drew guns and shot one of the would-be robbers dead.  The other robber escaped.  

Observations:
1.  The Taco Bell employees showed excellent marksmanship as the bad guy was hit SIX times and no good guys were injured.  The bad guy that got away may have been hit too.  
2.  I appreciate that there's no mention here that Taco Bell is firing these employees.  It says they will offer counseling.  Way to go Taco Bell!
3.  THREE employees were concealed carrying!  Wow!  That has got to be the safest place in Cleveland at 3 AM.

This is just one of the hundreds of times a day that guns saved lives.  Most of these events are never reported because no shots are fired.  More guns = less crime.  

I heard an amazing quote from Thomas Jefferson during the third episode of the Gun Owners of America "Firing Back" podcast.  This new podcast has been very informative in discussing the history of gun control around the world and some of the basic myths including - background checks, gun registration, "No Fly, No Buy," and others. 

His quote is :"I prefer dangerous freedom to safe slavery."  This is very inspiring to me and a great reminder of why the founding fathers gave us the right to keep and bear arms -  to ensure our freedom.  Gun control isn't about guns, it is about CONTROL.   Any gun control law is an imposition on our freedom and means law abiding citizens will suffer.

I've subscribed to this podcast and recommend that you do too.​  Also, consider joining the GOA to help ensure our freedoms are protected and expanded.  

I saw an article last week about an elderly Florida homeowner defending himself against an intruder and was reminded of the Old West adage "God made man, Samuel Colt made them equal."  The article doesn't say the age of the homeowner but I assume he was physically no match for the intruder.  A firearm leveled the playing field.  Race, gender, physical fitness, age, height, weight - none of those mattered.  

Contact me if you'd like the opportunity to build confidence with your home defense weapon.

As a firearms instructor, I hate reading stories of accidental shootings like this one about a graduation gift that went wrong.  Brennan Fields received a gun as a high school graduation gift.  Then he shot and killed his girlfriend while he was showing it to her.  It is time for gun owners to start making safety our #1 priority!  A gun makes an excellent present but should not be given to someone who has not been taught to handle a it safely.  I've posted before about the rules for safe gun handling.  Clearly, Mr. Fields broke all of these.

Gun accidents are caused by:

1. Ignorance. Ignorance is not knowing the correct way to handle a gun safely.  Many people have grown up around guns and shooting with their family but have never been taught how to safely handle a gun.  They've been lucky.  When an accident finally happens to these people, ignorance is the cause because they didn't really know better.  
2. Negligence.  Negligence is knowing the right way to handle a gun but not applying it.  Negligence is worse than ignorance because if an accident happens you'll have no one to blame but yourself.  I've been around many gun owners who know the right way to handle their guns but sometimes are a bit lax on the direction they point their gun or in keeping their finger off of the trigger.  

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I'm not sure which of these was to blame in the case of Mr. Fields, but the lesson is crystal clear.  If you've learned the rules of safe gun handling, ensure you apply them 100% of the time and that those around you do too!  If you don't know the rules of safe gun handling - learn them now!

I recently happened across the YouTube video below.  This video was taken in a classroom and shows a DEA agent who shoots himself in the foot while trying to teach the kids not to play with guns.  Ironic?  Yes.  There are some valuable lessons to learn here though and I recommend you take a minute to watch it.

My first observation is this guy should never be carrying a gun.  His gun handling is so careless it really demonstrates a lack of training.  Just before he shoots himself, he tells the kids "I'm the only one in this room professional enough to handle a gun."  Meanwhile, he breaks all of the rules of safe gun handling!  Rule #1 is to always keep your finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot.  Guns don't shoot by themselves, they only shoot when the trigger is pulled.  If your finger is not on the trigger, you can't accidentally shoot.  Rule #2 is always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction (his foot is not safe).   A safe direction is one in which you could shoot a bullet and no one and nothing is going to get hurt.  There is no safe direction anywhere in that classroom.  Because of that, he never should have unholstered his gun (even if he thought it was unloaded).  When they get out the rifle at the end, notice it is being pointed right at the guy standing against the wall!  This DEA agent is incredibly lucky that he didn't shoot a kid when he shot himself. 

Rule #3 for safe gun handling is to always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.  This rule leads to my second observation, he does not know how to correctly check if the gun is loaded or not.  He pulls back the slide to demonstrate that he has an empty chamber but never removes the magazine (which is loaded).  Once he releases the slide, the gun is loaded.  A proper chamber check for an unloaded gun is executed without a magazine in the gun.  

My third observation and probably most upsetting to me is his poor attitude towards guns.  After he shoots himself and he calms the crowd down a bit, the agent tells the kids:

• "I made a mistake"  
• "See how that accident happened?  It could happen to you and you'll be blown away."
• "Never play with guns.  See how accidents happen - they happen!"

In essence, he's saying that you can't protect yourself against guns.  His opinion is that they are inherently dangerous and if you have one long enough you are going to have an accident and hurt someone.  All of his statements are 100% wrong.  What this video showed was negligence, not an accident.  He handled a gun carelessly and incorrectly and got caught. 

Accidents don't just happen, they are caused by ignorance (not knowing) or negligence (not applying).  I know many people (myself included) that have owned and shot guns their whole lives and never had an accident - not even a close call.  If you haven't been taught how to safely handle guns, please take the time to learn the rules today.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure to train a family of seven how to safely operate a handgun. Normally I only allow a maximum of four students to ensure everyone gets plenty of time to shoot, but I do make exceptions for groups.  

This family had almost no experience with guns but decided it was time to learn.  First, they purchased several brand-new M&P Shield 9mms as presents for Christmas and then they scheduled a course with me.  By the time the course was over, they all learned to load, unload and shoot their new guns safely.  I always enjoy teaching new gun owners and helping them build a good foundation of safety and marksmanship.   

Contact me if you are interested in starting your own journey to gun ownership.

We've all heard the old saying "what goes up, must come down."  If you've never thought about this in relation to firearms, the same is true for bullets.  If you shoot a bullet up in the air, it will come down somewhere and often with enough force to kill.  

On New Years Eve 2016, a Texas legislator was hit in the head by a "stray" bullet.  Thankfully he wasn't killed.  In this instance, it is likely the gun owner was shooting his rifle into the air to celebrate the New Year.  This happens far too often.  Many Richmonders will remember 2013 when a seven year old boy was killed with a stray bullet while walking with his father on the 4th of July.    

Neither of these incidents should have ever happened.  The first rule of safe gun handling is to ALWAYS keep your gun pointed in a safe direction.  "Up" is never a safe direction because you cannot guarantee where your bullet will land.