I’d like to pause for a moment, to mourn the 12 people who were killed in Texas at Fort Hood yesterday, and for the 30+ people who were wounded. We will know all the details of what caused this and why soon enough, but one thing is already clear: An active shooter can strike anywhere, be it a college campus, a cafe, or a military base.
Be extra vigilant, my friends.
The Good Fight
“…it is hard to be treated in such a condescending manner because you actually took the time to study the issue and realize having a gun is the best way to keep your family safe….”
by Gerard Valentino
Every vocal pro-gun advocate is familiar with the condescending look of so-called friends or family members who are sure we’re nothing but bloodthirsty members of the NRA cult. We’ve all been there when someone belittles our judgment by saying, “I hope you have those guns locked up so your kids won’t get them,” or asking, “Aren’t you afraid you will shoot a family member by accident?” You might even get to hear my favorite silly anti-gun statement, “You know, someone who keeps a gun in the house is 75% more likely to kill a friend of family member than an intruder.”
Personally, I have a family member who is a self-described intellectual and, based on the desire to feed his feelings of superiority, he looks down his nose at anyone who carries a gun for self-defense.
A common answer when asked, “Why do you keep a gun in the house with those kids?” is to simply say, “I have it because I love my children and value their lives.” Usually, that is followed by a nod as if the person asking the question understood my answer, and then a puzzled furrowing of their eyebrows. No reason to go any further at that point, since usually the antagonist walks away wondering if you’ve lost your mind. Jim Irvine, Buckeye Firearms Association’s Chairman, delivers the line better than anyone I’ve met, with equal parts sarcasm and scorn. His delivery is a joy to behold.
But the unfortunate reaction to the social crusaders who want to tell us how to keep our family safe is to react with anger. Nobody wins if that happens since the person spewing the misguided anti-gun propaganda is probably parroting the rhetoric heard on the latest episode of Ellen or Oprah. It only shows a lack of willingness to investigate an issue properly as opposed to true anti-gun feeling. Still, it is hard to be treated in such a condescending manner because you actually took the time to study the issue and realize having a gun is the best way to keep your family safe.
As pro-gun advocates, we have an obligation to lay out our arguments in a calculating and logical manner. To do so isn’t easy. I fail to tolerate the simple minded nature of our anti-gun adversaries on a daily basis. Like most pro-gun advocates it is beyond my ability to comprehend that people still believe in the validity of gun-control after the mounds of evidence that has disproved it over the last thirty years. Even worse is trying to educate the establishment media on how much they don’t understand about guns. Anger is never the answer, however, since it only reinforces the idea that people who own guns can’t be trusted–an ironic twist since it is backward anti-gun ravings that should incur the scorn of every day Americans.
In contrast to my so-called intellectual family member is a sister with an autistic son. There is true concern over keeping a gun in the house under those circumstances, and I have the utmost respect for their decision to not keep one. Although my nephew is a wonderful child, it is simply impossible to adequately teach him not to touch a gun. My sister’s situation teaches me that my choice to own a gun isn’t practical for everyone I come across in daily life. I actually have more respect for people who might want to keep a gun at home but have honest reasons that make it impossible compared to those who simply have their heads in the sand. The same people who think their house is utterly secure scoff at the thought that keeping a gun is akin to having a smoke detector or fire extinguisher.
Some of the people who obsess the most about picking the right car seat, the safest crib and go to great lengths to baby-proof their house don’t take simple precautions to keep their kids from becoming the victim of a gun accident. The benefits of the NRA’s Eddie Eagle program are lost on people who refuse to look at the gun issue logically and instead react out of emotion. A failure to teach your kids how to avoid becoming an accidental gun death is equivalent to not teaching them to be careful with strangers, look both ways before crossing the street, or wear a helmet while riding a bike.
Still, your well-intentioned friends at work don’t see it that way. To many of them, keeping a gun in the house is equal to child abuse because their favorite anti-gun celebrity said so. Their gullible nature has been crafted by years of anti-gun establishment media misinformation and they are also guilty of taking political advice from the likes of Rosie O’Donnell, Sean Penn or Ellen DeGeneres. Only when we succeed in changing the culture will we succeed in changing the minds of those so enamored with celebrity they would vote based on their favorite actor’s political endorsement or demonstrate in front of a Marine Corps recruiting station because their favorite celebrity said it was the right thing to do.
While we have logic, statistics, facts and even moral rightness on our side, one thing pro-gun advocates can’t account for is how hard people will resist changing long-held beliefs. That holds true whether those beliefs are based on emotion, faith, or in the case of gun control, poorly executed social policy. For millions of Americans who grew up in cities such as Chicago, Boston, New York or Washington D.C., the never-ending drumbeat of anti-gun propaganda wore down the citizen’s objectivity. The overwhelming evidence which proves that gun control led to the exact type of crime it was designed to stop leaves people even more confused. They have shut down on the issue and stick by their misguided values.
The simple fact is that the establishment media and media elites in our country are very good at their job. For years that included selling the value of gun-control with the all the gusto they could muster and an uncanny ability to drown out dissent. To overcome that bias will take time and dedication to the cause. It helps that we are right but that only goes so far. Unless all gun owners protect their right to bear arms with unwavering dedication they will one day be confiscated.
It’s our job to keep that from happening.
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Gerard Valentino is the Buckeye Firearms Association Central Ohio Coordinator, BuckeyeFirearms.org, teaches the Ohio concealed carry class through Center Mass Ltd. and writes for the ValentinoChronicle.com
USCCA Laugh of the Week
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== Survival Update == |
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>>Click Here To Learn More<< |
Coming Up On Armed American Radio
The Official Voice of the USCCA
by Mark Walters
The happenings at AARadio just keep happening! I received news from the syndicators at the network yesterday that we continue to add new affiliate stations across the country! Missoula Montana is now joining the AARadio family LIVE this week!! But wait, that’s not all. Meridian Idaho, YOU are joining the Armed American Radio family THIS week also. The excitement continues to build but WAIT, there’s more!
Armed American Radio is now going to 3, count em, 3 solid hours beginning November 21st! Can ya believe it? I can. Because of YOU we are outgrowing our britches and are currently the fastest growing radio program in America!
Coming up this week my guests include the ever popular Kathy Jackson who will be tipping her hat and telling you about weeks of intense product trials that are sure to make your carrying habits a little easier. Also joining me for the full second hour is Suzanna Hupp. Yep, that Suzanna Hupp who was inside the Luby’s Cafeteria in 1991 when whack job murderer George Hennard opened fire killing 23 innocent people including Suzanna’s parents in cold blood. Suzanna will be discussing her new book From Luby’s to the Legislature. You don’t want to miss AARadio this week!!!!
For more info on where to listen check out www.armedamericanradio.org!
Also a big thanks to those of you who are making our book,Lessons from Armed America a great success. Co written with Kathy Jackson, Lessons from Armed America is selling great and making some waves. Check it out for yourself at Amazon or Whitefeatherpress.com
See YOU on the radio!
Mark Walters
Review Of Wilderness Medical Systems Denali Kit
USCCA Gear Review
Right off the bat, I need to tell everyone who is reading this review that first it is imperative that you get some emergency medical training, whether it is a basic first-aid course with CPR, or an advanced wilderness medicine course. Second, everyone needs to have more than one comprehensive medical kit packed and ready to be used at all times no matter where they may be.
You should have at least one comprehensive medical kit at home and one in the vehicle that is used most often. I also strongly advocate that some basic supplies be packed in a purse, backpack, briefcase, or whatever and be carried everywhere. And I’m not talking about packing a few Band-Aids and Neosporin (although they are handy to have). I’m talking about packing at least two methods to stop a serious bleed, a CPR face shield, and at least one pair of latex, vinyl, or nitrile exam gloves.
If everyone carried a couple of feminine sanitary napkins (the thicker overnight maxi pad size), a couple of tampons, a pack of 3M Vet Wrap, and an envelope of Celox along with a CPR face shield and a pair of exam gloves, more injured people could be saved. How could more injured people be saved with such simple items that can be packed in about as much space as an average man’s fist would take up?
Celox is a proven lifesaver and is also available in an applicator form to better get the chitosan into a penetrating wound. You need to research this stuff to know how it could be a very beneficial product to own.
Well, what kills a person the fastest for those who survive the initial trauma event in the first place is bleeding to death. Bleeding has to be controlled first and fast. In a survival situation, severe bleeding has to be controlled before consideration of the maintenance of the airway. A person can bleed to death faster than dying from lack of oxygen.
In CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) the ABC’s are taught. Airway, Breathing, and Circulation. Simply put, ya gotta have enough blood in the body to make any of the ABC’s worth working on as a First Responder. Without enough blood, an unobstructed airway with strong breaths going in and out of the lungs along with a heart that is pumping away will serve no purpose if the blood is squirting out of the body instead of circulating inside it.
That’s why for purposes of writing this article for the United States Concealed Carry Association’s Armed American Report, I want everyone to think about the seriousness of obtaining some medical training in order to facilitate a higher chance of surviving any natural or man-made disaster. And since we carry guns for defense, we should be well aware that if we ever need to defend ourselves that the likelihood of being shot or stabbed is still as real for us as it is for the unarmed. We just carry a means of stopping an attack, where the unarmed probably won’t be around long enough to be able to treat any injuries sustained in an attack.
As each of us obtains some emergency medical training we need to have available to us some tools to save a life. That’s where a comprehensive medical kit comes in. Not a ten dollar first-aid kit from a department store, but a kit packed with the right stuff to treat various ailments and injuries. The mindset behind the choice of many of the materials in a good kit is packing items that are compact in size to make them more easily portable with those items being products and methods to sustain life until better treatment can be obtained.
The first-aid kits found in pharmacies and department stores are what I call boo-boo kits. They are great for grabbing a Band-Aid and some Neosporin to treat minor wounds, but are woefully inadequate as far as materials needed to treat even a moderate bleed. I have a boo-boo kit I use for example purposes. It has a few tiny gauze pads which could be used to pack a serious laceration, but there aren’t enough of them. Next to my Denali kit from Wilderness Medical Systems, the boo-boo kit is practically worthless. The boo-boo kit only cost ten bucks, and a good medical kit costs significantly more. In this instance it is true that one gets what is paid for. So why am I reviewing a Wilderness Medical Kit?
I’m reviewing this kit from Wilderness Medical Systems because it is packed with items to treat injuries and ailments expected to occur in a wilderness setting. Most of us have a Bug Out Bag packed and ready to go during a time of any disaster where evacuation is right now with no time to waste. Most of us also know that in a Bug Out situation we need to be prepared to make it through everything from staying in a shelter to living outdoors until order can be restored. Many of the injuries and ailments that can occur in a wilderness setting are the same that can occur when we are in a disaster survival situation.
The kits from Wilderness Medical Systems are designed with outdoor enthusiasts in mind according to the following criteria:
1. The number of people the kit will support
2. The length of stay
3. Probability of rescue in 24-48 hours
This same criteria works for a medical kit we would pack for a Bug Out type of situation. It also works for a kit kept around the house waiting to be of assistance with solid medical materials to treat injuries and ailments.
The kits from Wilderness Medical Systems have all of the good points I look for. Items are packed according to what they are made to treat such as wounds or burns, and the items are separated and packed in water proof zippered bags. All of the items are then fitted into a soft-sided case that is a bright color. Plus, kits can be customized to suit specific needs. I had Celox added to my kit. Celox is the chitosan granules that have proven to be a battlefield lifesaver when it comes to controlling severe bleeding.
With Wilderness Medical Systems offering free customization services (you pay for the materials not the time to obtain and pack them) as well as membership in their service that reminds you about refill of products and new items that are available, they are my go to source for a great medical kit. In fact I am working with them to get a kit packed exactly to my specifications, and when it is available I will let everyone else know about it so they can check it out to see if it suits their needs.
No, I’m not getting paid for it. In fact anyone could design a custom kit and give it a name to identify it. If Tim made a kit that would suit his personal needs and called it the Tim Kit, then anyone who wanted a kit with those exact contents would just need to contact Wilderness Medical Systems and tell them that they would like to order the Tim Kit. That way when your friends see what your kit contains, and they want a kit exactly like it, then they need only ask. And they still can further customize that kit with specific items to suit their own needs.
That’s what I did with the Denali. For my kit I started with the Denali contents, and refined it by adding and taking away to suit my own needs for a comprehensive medical kit that is good at home, on the road, or in the woods. If I ever get to travel with my evangelist friend to places such as Bolivia or India, my kit will be going with me.
Let’s take a look at the contents of a standard Denali kit. The Denali is packed to support 1-6 people for a period of time of 7-14 days with the probability of rescue (or access to more advanced medical care) greater than 50% in 8-12 hours. Those criteria are extremely important to understand when choosing or packing a medical kit. That’s why training is imperative.
The Denali kit weighs in just under 3 pounds and has a current price of $266.00. Yes, it is way more than the ten buck boo-boo kit I got at Walmart, but it is also capable of treating more serious injuries where the boo-boo kit is not. We all know that healthcare isn’t cheap, nor is the products designed to treat injuries and ailments. It’s something the reader needs to decide. Is the new toy a priority over having the tools and materials available to save a life? That’s a question I cannot answer for anyone other than myself.
Denali™ Modules and Contents
BLISTERS & SPRAINS
BLIST-O-BAN (large) hi-tech, ultra-thin blister pads 8
ELASTIC BANDAGE 3″ 2
ELASTIC BANDAGE 6″ 1
MOLEFOAM 4″ X 3.5″ (pressure point padding) 2
MOLESKIN PLUS 4″ X 3.5″ (prevent & care for blisters) 2
BURN, RASH & STING, SUNSCREEN HYDROCORT CREAM 1% (unit dose) (allergic skin rashes) 4
INSECT STING RELIEF small (use also for rash, sunburn) 2
NEW SUPER MESH-KNIT TAPE, WATER-RESISTANT ADHESIVE, FLEXIBLE, DURABLE (use over blister/hot spot or to secure Spenco Second Skin..) 6
SPENCO SECOND SKIN (2″ X 3″) (sterile gel pad, burn dressing) 2
SUN SCREEN 1
TEGADERM (lightweight, transparent wound and blister dressing) 2
TICK (&SPLINTER /THORN) REMOVAL MODULE (incl. Uncle Bill’s tweezer, magnifying lens & tick removal instructions) 1
EYE, NOSE, THROAT EYE PADS 2
NASAL SPRAY 1 squeeze bottle (colds, stuffy nose, blocked sinuses) 1
STERILE EYEWASH 1
TONGUE DEPRESSORS (use as small splints, medication application, tinder, etc) 5
INSTRUMENTS
FORCEPS 4.5″ 1
GLOVES, LATEX 1 pr 1
SAFETY PINS 5
SCISSORS 5.5″ 1
MEDICATIONS
ACETAMINOPHEN 1 pkt
8 BISMUTH TABS 12 tabs (anti-diarrhea)
2 IBUPROFEN 1 pkt 8
POCKET CONTENTS
AIRWAY - ADULT MEDIUM 2
FLASHCARDS™ (waterproof, tearproof first aid manual for wilderness medical emergencies) 1
SAM SPLINT (flexible splinting) 1
WOUND BANDAGING
1″ X 3″ POLYMEM MEDICATED MEMBRANE DRESSING (7 day super band-aid with colloidal dressing 6
2″ X 4″ POLYMEM MEDICATED MEMBRANE DRESSING (7 day super band-aid with colloidal dressing) 3
BANDAGE 4X4 STERILE 6
BANDAGE, NON-ADHERENT 3″ X 4″ STERILE 4
BAND-AID 1″ 10
CONFORMING BANDAGE 3″ 2
STERI-STRIPS (3) (minor wound closure) 2
TAPE, ADHESIVE 1″ 1
TAPE, BLACK SUPER 2″ X 10′ (a waterproof, stickier, more durable version of duct tape) 1
WOUND CLEANING, TREATING, SURVIVAL
APPLICATORS STERILE 4
COTTON BALLS (10) 2
IODINE WIPES 6
POLYSPORIN OINTMENT (unit dose) (broad spectrum topical antibiotic) 6
SUPERGLUE™ (state of the art wound closure) 2
SURVIVAL BLANKET 1
VIONEX SURGICAL SOAP 10
If you happen to be really going into a remote location, an absolutely fantastic service available from Wilderness Medical Systems is the consultation service with an M.D. to obtain prescription meds appropriate to where one is going. Going on an African Hunt? Be prepared. No, the service is not available for those purchasing a kit for home use. For prescription medications to be packed in a home kit one must consult with their own doctor. But for those going away, the service is a must because it is not just any medical doctor, it is Doctor Arthur S. Dover who will know what you will be facing depending on where you are going in the world. He used to work for the Parasitic Disease Branch of the CDC so he has some experience your local doc just may not have.
Wilderness Medical Systems has a medical director that is an M.D. He is Doctor Gilbert A. Preston. This gives me confidence in my purchase of a medical kit from Wilderness Medical Systems. Another person at Wilderness Medical Systems gives me confidence in their services and products. That person is Donna Von Nieda. She’s the one who will source the materials for custom kits, and give the best price to the customer. She will also point out things one may forget no matter how well thought out the custom kit may be.
I wanted to have a couple of pairs of sterile gloves in my kit for use during wound closure during a protracted situation where more advanced medical care wasn’t not available. I forgot to tell her the sizes I wanted. Something simple and easy to overlook. The folks at Wilderness Medical Systems have the needed experience for packing out a comprehensive medical kit for any adventure or scenario. In fact, my Denali kit with a bit of customization is great, but inadequate for a protracted disaster scenario. For that type of situation one must, at a minimum, move up to the Humbug II kit. It would probably be better to move up to a kit specifically designed to parameters where the likelihood of rescue in hours is remote. For those situations check out the Absorkee or Kilimanjaro kits.
No matter which prepacked kit one may start with from the Grasshopper to the Kilimanjaro, one can rest assured that it is far from just being a boo-boo kit. Take a look at the contents of each kit. Have a conversation with a medical professional you trust. Let them suggest some additional materials, or even suggest the removal from the kit of any materials they know you would not need due to your unique circumstances. Email your list to Donna and get a price for your own custom kit.
This is not the last you will be hearing from me about the need for comprehensive medical kits in every home, vehicle, and at work. I plan on a nice little video segment to tell you more, plus the good folks at USCCA are taking serious the need to educate as many as possible about how necessary it is to get some training and have medical materials ready to be put into action at a moments notice.
Please take some time to really take a close look at what is offered at Wilderness Medical Systems at www.wildernessmedical.com. And when you contact Donna, make sure you tell her that you heard about them due to this review. No, I’m not getting anything for this. I just want her to know where her inquiries are coming from.
Quote of the Week
“To ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless, and that the law will permit them to have only such rights and liberties as the lawless will allow… For society does not control crime, ever, by forcing the law-abiding to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of criminals. Society controls crime by forcing the criminals to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of the law-abiding.”
-Jeff Snyder, author American Handgunner, Second Amendment Foundation Officer
USCCA Forum Highlights
Every paying website member has complete access to the USCCA forum, which is constantly being accessed by members sharing information, knowledge, insight, and fun. With well over sixty-thousand posts and growing by the hour, this is one heck of a valuable resource!
If you have never logged in but are a member, visit THIS location to watch help videos, including how to find out your username and/or password!
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Do you have two-cents that you would like to add to any of the following forum posts? Well if you do, then you should join USCCA’s Members Only Forums. We learn from and share with one another. And since it is only for USCCA members, there aren’t any of the problems that can be found with some other Internet forums.
Hey fellahs and gals, what, in your expert opinion, is the best bang for the buck for a decent 2-3-4 person tent. And a manufacture name as well.
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I used to laugh to myself when I would see people at the range scouring the ground for those couple pieces of missing brass at the end of their shooting sessions. I could not understand the obsession. I figured they were already saving money by reloading their ammo; so why worry about a couple pieces of brass? Well, I recently started reloading and find myself searching and searching for every last piece of brass before I head home. When I first did this I laughed to myself all the way home because I was now “that guy”. I do not believe we search for that brass because we are cheap…we search for that brass because we know its there somewhere and it couldn’t have simply disappeared. Has anyone else out there realized they have this obsession?
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(Quote was in last week’s Armed American Report newsletter)
“What do you need a gun for?”
“That quote is one that most of us have heard over and over from friends, family, and coworkers when it may have been discovered that either we carry a gun or that we promote the carrying of firearms.”
When you hear that quote, “DO YOU HAVE A POWERFUL AND APPROPRIATE ANSWER?” You should have a quick answer that will get them to think and not just dismiss your answer, and you should have the facts for an in-depth conversation that may then result
GREAT QUOTE … from USCCA.
I would appreciate some well thought out answers.
What would you say?
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Keep a File on Self Defense Training
I have come to realize that it very well could be important to keep a personal file of any self defense training you have gone through. Could be formal or something as simple as reading publications on your own. Even this forum is good training. Being a member of the USCCA is hands on ongoing training. Did you or have you ever thought of this forum as being a place of further preparation and training?
Here in TN., we must go through 8 hours of training, from a qualified instructor, just to get our HCP. A record of any additional training could be helpful should you be involved in any self defense situation in the future.
I have studied several books and many articles trying to educate myself on how to avoid such confrontations. I also belong to the Armed Citizens Legal Defense network which provides 3 very informative DVD to help educate you further. I receive monthly periodicals to further educate myself. The USCCA magazine being one of them.
It occurred to me I need to make a list of these attempts so I can have a readily available record of proof that I have been attempting to train and improve myself in this area. I am also going to keep a log of my firing time practice from now on.
Education is of paramount importance in this area. If and when you are involved in a situation, it most likely will not be the time to be digging up pertinent information to present and bolster your defense, should you need it.
Just think about this……What are your thoughts?
Video of the Week
Ron Paul vs. Michael Moore on Larry King CNN 10/29/2009
USCCA Photo of the Week
All Photos of the Week are taken from Mr. Oleg Volk’s website:
http://www.a-human-right.com/.
It is a fantastic site. Please check it out!
USCCA Self Defense Story
Every day, thousands of Armed Americans use their firearms to preserve human life. Let this section of my newsletter serve as a record of this fact!
October 22, 2009
San Marcos, Texas
From: The Statesman
Intruder shot in San Marcos
A man San Marcos police said was shot after breaking into a home on Oscar Smith Drive armed with a BB gun, is in stable condition today at University Medical Center Brackenridge, police Commander Penny Dunn said.
Police released no names involved in the shooting as they continued their investigation, Dunn said. No charges have been filed in the case, she said.
Officers were first called at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday from someone reporting a break-in in progress at the back door of a home in the 700 block of Oscar Smith Drive, Dunn said.
One of three people in the home at the time fired several shots at a man Dunn said was armed with a BB handgun. The intruder then fled on foot wounded, she said.
Dunn said police were alerted that a man with several gunshot wounds came to Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos after 10 p.m. Doctors there gave him primary treatment and the suspect was transferred to Brackenridge, she said.
Closing Thoughts
Tim How do I get my wife to accept the fact that I carry? She makes me feel like I’m a criminal when she finds out I’m armed then refuses to come with me in public. I secretly arm myself before we go out when she is with me and try to avoid her body coming in contact with my weapon (Glock 26, 9 mm). Appreciate any advise on this. Richard
Richard, that is a very difficult situation. My heart is with you, because YOU know that your wife is a big part of the reason you are going armed. You understand that it’s your duty to protect her, and you’ve decided (correctly) that armed self defense is the best way to do so.
Some people’s minds change easier than others, and so it could be years before she warms up to the idea. Sadly- she may never become truly comfortable with it, but if concealed carry is a life decision that you eel strongly about, then your wife must accept it.
The editor or our very own Concealed Carry Magazine, Kathy Jackson, has a private website called ‘CorneredCat.com’. It’s a brilliant site, and within it there is a page called “Recurring Questions” which I think you are going to find helpful.
Have a look here: http://www.corneredcat.com/Men/recurring.aspx
If all else fails, jump on the USCCA member’s forum, and pose the question to the ladies and gentlemen there. Someone will have some advice for you. It’s member-ony access, so if you’re not a member, go here to become one. You should be. 
Do you have a pressing concern? Use the ‘Ask Tim’ contact form found at this page to let me hear your advice. Just use the graphic below!
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