IV – Know

Church Security Training: Decision Decks Help You Think Through a Crisis Before It Happens

Here’s a simple way to prepare your mindset for the unexpected!

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Whether personal self-defense or serving on your church security team, anticipating potential threats is a crucial skill we must hone as rigorously as we sharpen our defensive shooting accuracy in the time we spend at the range.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

One way to accomplish this is with Decision Decks, five packs of cards—60 scenario cards per pack—to enhance situational awareness problem solving and decision making abilities, created by Simon Osamoh, founder and president of Kingswood Security Consulting and the Worship Security Academy, and former head of counter-terrorism at Mall of America, Minnesota, where he oversaw the internationally-recognized behavior threat assessment team.

You already know about the benefits of dry-fire training in the comfort of your home; in the same manner, Decision Decks are pre-crisis mental workouts you can contemplate anywhere to sharpen your readiness.

Senior US District Judge Declares Gun Magazine Capacity Limits Unconstitutional

In 2017, Judge Roger Benitez, senior judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, struck down California’s ban on standard capacity magazines which the state had arbitrarily ruled to be “high capacity.” That ruling was overturned by an en banc Ninth Circuit ruling. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court which vacated that ruling based on its Bruen decision, and remanded it for reconsideration. September 22, 2023, Judge Benitez struck down California’s ban as clearly unconstitutional.

Here are excerpts from his well-reasoned and articulate 71-page ruling:

“The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution ‘guarantee[s] the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation.’”

“The guarantee protects ‘the possession of weapons that are “in common use.”’”

“It’s our duty as judges to interpret the Constitution based on the text and original understanding of the relevant provision—not on public policy considerations, or worse, fear of public opprobrium.”

“This case is about a California state law that makes it a crime to keep and bear common firearm magazines typically possessed for lawful purposes. Based on the text, history, and tradition of the Second Amendment, this law is clearly unconstitutional.”

Self-Defense Legal Insurance Options

According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, 22 million Americans are legally licensed to publicly carry a firearm in the United States. That doesn’t include those who keep guns strictly in their homes for domestic protection, along with people who open carry or live in one of the more than two dozen states that don’t require licenses.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Survey: Protection Is the Main Reason People Own a Gun ]

Using a firearm to defend against a criminal act that could result in your death or serious bodily injury means you’ll have to deal with the legal aftermath to justify your firearm usage. That’s where purchasing a self-defense insurance program might be helpful.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The 5 Elements of Self-Defense Law ]

In the broad sense, “self-defense insurance” is basically a membership in an organization that will help connect you with a criminal defense attorney and help pay for legal expenses involved in a court case. As an informational service to you, we’ve compiled the list below of just such entities. Each listing includes a brief statement of the organization’s purpose taken from its website.

Survey: Protection Is the Main Reason People Own a Gun

Gun owners in the United States continue to cite protection far more than other factors as the major reason they own a gun.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Nebraska Is Now the 27th USA State That Allows Permitless Carrying of Concealed Firearms ]

And about half of Americans (47%) who don’t own a gun say they could imagine themselves as gun owners in the future.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, The Process of Becoming a First Time Gun Owner ]

According to the Pew Research Center survey, conducted June 5-11 among 5,115 members of the Center’s nationally representative American Trends Panel, the vast majority of gun owners (81%) say they feel safer owning a gun.

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