Defending Yourself From Criminals and Elected Officials

Photos courtesy author

DEFENSIVE CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

In defensive training, we talk about concepts and principles of personal or family defense against a violent criminal. These may include awareness, avoidance, and collection and processing of information so that we properly identify an attacker and have an appropriate response. The “verbiage” may change from one instructor to the next or one curriculum to the next, but the core concepts and principles remain constant.

WARRIOR EXPERT THEORY

“Through frequent and realistic training, we can learn to use the power of recognition to respond more efficiently during a dynamic critical incident.” – Rob Pincus: The Warrior Expert Theory

As “responsibly armed American-family first responders,” we practice applying these concepts and principles in training as realistically as we can, as frequently as we can, and we strive to make ourselves as efficient as possible. We visualize, prepare, drill, evaluate, and evolve our training so we will be successful if we ever need to defend ourselves or those we love against a violent attacker.

As professional defensive educators, how many of us stress the importance of defending ourselves against elected officials who assault our rights and liberties? We have a wonderful contract between the people and government in the Bill of Rights, and it guarantees our ability to use our defensive tools to defend against a violent attack.

Elected officials on the local, state, and federal levels are assaulting our rights; should that be something we also concern ourselves with? I know many of my fellow law-abiding citizens who will trip over themselves to touch the new Sig or the Gen 5, but to have them send an email, make a phone call, write a letter, show up at a rally … you get where I’m going here, right?

EXERCISE AND FITNESS

Owning a firearm is an “exercise” of a Constitutional right. “Exercise” is something that many of us need to do. Voting, writing letters and emails, making calls, peaceably assembling, petitioning the government for redress of grievances … all of these rights must also be exercised or the result is a government that potentially operates without consideration for us. Unfortunately, we see this more and more.

Vote, and vote in every election. Vote for the mayor and the dog catcher. When you contact an elected official, inform them that you are a voter. If you vote in every election, tell them you are a “super voter” and you are eligible for a cape. If you don’t vote, your opinion means nothing to an elected official who is only concerned with being a re-elected official.

DENIAL KILLS YOU TWICE

“Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: You didn’t bring your gun; you didn’t train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by fear, helplessness, horror and shame at your moment of truth.” – LTC David Grossman: Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs

Denying that elected officials will actually restrict or abolish your rights and liberties could “kill you twice.” Saying, “well, that is simply unconstitutional, they can’t do that” is like saying, “criminals won’t hurt good people because murder is against the law.” All of a sudden, you find yourself in a situation you didn’t start and can’t escape. Sound familiar?

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

Situational awareness is the cornerstone of all defensive training. How many of your students are aware of what is going on in their city councils, state capitols, or in Washington, D.C.? Are they “Condition White” to the threats that exist against their rights?

Each state has some kind of organization or “league” that is a legislative watchdog. In Pennsylvania, Firearms Owners Against Crime; in Massachusetts, Gun Owners’ Action League; in West Virginia, the West Virginia Citizen’s Defense League. These organizations do much more for our rights locally than any of the national associations.

Every gun owner or citizen who cares about protecting law-abiding citizens’ rights and liberties should join and support these organizations. Money donated to them “stays local” and does much more to protect your rights and liberties at the state and local levels than donations to national organizations. Local and statewide organizations like this inform members of potential positive and negative legislation that should be supported or opposed. They are a great way for “regular folk” to stay situationally aware.

ACTION IS FASTER THAN REACTION

Collecting and processing information is key to the survival of our liberty, and if we can gain any level of anticipation, perhaps we will be able to act instead of react. Paying close attention to what elected officials are doing, taking time to meet with them and educate them on the issues, and reminding them that we are paying attention may help us avoid an elected-official-induced liberty assault.

VERBAL CHALLENGES

Issuing a verbal challenge may be a way for a potential attacker to recognize you are not going to be an easy victim. We must use our outside voice when letting elected officials know we will not submit when they attempt to assault our rights and liberties.

Voting is one of the loudest ways to do this. Law-abiding Americans must get out and vote. In Pennsylvania in 2014, an openly “anti-gun” governor was elected. There were 3,495,866 votes cast in that election. With an estimated six million gun owners in Pennsylvania, how did this happen? Gun owners were uninformed, complacent, and did not exercise one of our most basic rights.

BALLISTIC COMMUNICATIONS

When choosing defensive ammunition, we look for the best combination of penetration and energy transfer. We should consider the same concept when choosing the delivery method of our message to an elected official. Face to face is a great way of making your opinion known. Looking someone in the eye is always the best way to speak and can really personalize the message. Most elected officials have offices locally as well as at the state capitols and in Washington, D.C. Call ahead, find out when they will be in, and make an appointment. You may catch them if you drop by, but if you make an appointment, they will be more likely to actually sit down and talk. Sending an email is a quick way to get your message across, and making a phone call is probably better for impact, but mailing a personal letter with a stamp on it is best for penetration and energy transfer.

Most elected officials use a formula or rubric when it comes to constituent communications. Emails are worth a certain value, and phone calls are worth more, but letters really deliver a punch. I once sat with an elected official who had signed on to a very anti-gun piece of legislation. He then removed his name. When asked why, he stated that 12 people wrote him voicing their dissatisfaction with his endorsement of the legislation, so he took off his name. Handwritten stamped mail is very powerful. Obviously a combination of all three plus a visit is optimal.

Deliver your messages with maximum information transfer.

PREDATORS SEEK EASY VICTIMS AND NO WITNESSES

Remember, predators want an easy victim who won’t fight back and preferably with no witnesses. This sounds like closed-door meetings and last-minute “add-on” amendments to bills. Historically this has been a common practice in the halls of our legislatures … fewer witnesses!

“We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it” – Nancy Pelosi

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PRACTICE RETENTION TECHNIQUES

Firearm retention is a crucial aspect of defensive training. Don’t give up your firearm. This has been said by just about every defensive shooting instructor on the planet. We learn and teach techniques to keep control of our tools of self-defense against a violent criminal during a dynamic critical incident, but many make no effort to remind students of the importance of retaining our defensive tools from an elected official during a legislative liberty assault. Gun safes don’t keep your guns safe from elected officials! Right now, there is an elected official in Washington, D.C., your state capitol, or even in your local city council drafting, sponsoring, arguing, endorsing, and voting for legislation that will make the property you own illegal to own and will limit, restrict, or remove your rights to own or use it.

COORDINATED DEFENSIVE TACTICS

Support, encourage, and thank those elected officials who are actually defenders of the rights and liberties of law-abiding citizens. This is very important and may help to prevent an assault on your rights by an elected official. Your biggest ally in the halls of government may not be your representative. Consult your local pro-liberty organization to find out which elected officials are true defenders of the Constitution. Contact these folks and ask them, “What can I do to help you educate and persuade others in government to turn to the light of liberty?” They know who has the most influence politically, who can bring bills to the floor, and who can help kill them before they see the light of day. A coordinated defense is much more efficient!

THE FOURTH CHECK AND BALANCE

Being a “responsibly armed American-family first responder” requires us to be “well regulated” with our particular tools of self-defense, but we must also be prepared to face, accept, and survive the financial, legal, emotional, and moral aftermaths that will most likely come if we are ever involved in a dynamic critical incident. Dismissing the possibility of contemporary elected officials limiting, restricting, or abolishing our ability to defend ourselves and those we love, or banning the tools by which we choose to do that, is as short sighted as denying that evil people do bad things to good people.

Become informed and educated as to how government works, how legislation is written and passed, and what elected officials can and cannot do in regard to the powers of their governance. This government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” is not set up so that the law-abiding citizens serve the government … it is the other way around. A well-educated and informed citizenry promotes adherence to the framework by which this country was built. An educated and armed citizenry is the fourth check and balance in our constitutional republic. It is an honorable station. Act accordingly.

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25 Responses to “Defending Yourself From Criminals and Elected Officials”

  1. David Leas

    I have to take care of my self and my mom and I will need help to do it right before I get into the trouble of getting my self out and I’ll try to get help with this situation but if it’s possible for me to get help with the things that I will need to know about. I don’t think it’s going to be ok for me because it’s not been easy for me to do anything else until I know what to say about it and then I’ll decide if it’s okay for me to do anything else or if I can get help for the things that you have done right now because I’m just trying to get rid of the things that you don’t want me to do to make it easier for me to really think about what I should know and then I’ll try to find something else that I would like to see if you can help me out with the things that I don’t know about

    Reply
  2. Daryl

    Rob,
    One of the best pieces of information you’ve ever put out. All of the techniques we learn for handling our firearm, and ways to defend ourselves becomes moot if we are stripped of our right to keep and bear those tools . Many of our gun owners refuse to be involved. It will be their loss, especially if they are young.

    Reply
    • Klint Macro

      It will not just be their loss… it will be the OUR Loss. The free exercise of Rights and Liberties has ALWAYS been our strength as a Country. We need to educate our peers and the next generation. Thank you for your comment!

      Reply
  3. Art Hilgendorf

    What’s the difference between the two? I know there are some good ones but right now it seems like we are being attacked from all sides. Being on high alert is and all day everyday norm. Watching out for two legged criminals as well as DC swamp rats is time consuming and tiring, but we must stay the course.

    Reply
  4. John Nice

    An excellent article and extension of our right to defend ourselves not only physically but politically. I very much appreciated this article, Klint.

    Reply
  5. Greg H.

    You’ve chosen very sensible and convincing analogies and correlations… Enough for folks to say, “I never thought of it that way.”. Good article.
    Any suggestions as to where/how to locate those local “Leagues”? Google is not the best choice for 2A support. Thank you.Ticket 24258

    Reply
    • Klint Macro

      Liberty… plain and simple. We here in “the firearms community” often stress the 2A, but it must be recognized that the Bill of Rights is a package deal… an infringement of one is an Assault on them all. I am an advocate for ANY Right of ANY Law Abiding Citizen. The “Cause” is the free exercise of our Rights and Liberties. Now that is something that we all should get behind!

      Reply
  6. Tom

    The old saying, “talk is cheap”, is true. Regardless of what your elected official may say, go to the congressional record website and see how they voted. Check out gun forums. In Indiana we are fortunate to have INGO, INdiana Gun Owners. Ohio has Buckeye Firearms Association. The list goes on… stay informed, stay involved, stay safe.

    Smiles,
    From The Hoosier State

    Reply
  7. Baron

    Thank you for this article. I really appreciate the way you take basic tenets of self-defense and firearms safety and apply them to the political and legislative fields. I hope that few of us prepared or armed citizens will ever need to use those skills against a physical assailant, but if we don’t defend against the political predators, we’ll insure that we won’t have the means necessary to defend ourselves against those who maintain such means illegally. Given the widespread presence of the capacity to do evil among “normal” people, (see Nazi Germany,) I’m quite sure that if we limit the “good” people’s means of self-defense, more of the “marginally evil” will feel freer to express those tendencies, and assaults and murders will increase, not decrease.

    Reply
  8. Terry Graham

    Thanks for the heads up. I’ll be looking for a group here in Arkansas.

    Reply
  9. graystone

    Great call to action 👍
    This is how the battle must be fought if gunowners have any hope of winning the war.

    Reply
  10. Chas Brothers

    Nice to see you again Col. Grossman. I have gotten involved before but it appears my involvement has drawn the ire of the people at the VA, so I’ll be laying low for a while.

    Reply
  11. Allen Marker

    Excellent article. Mr. Macro is an asset to our community & our cause. Thank you sir.

    Reply