VI – Self-Defense

Louisiana and South Carolina Are Now the 28th and 29th USA States To Allow Permitless Carrying of Concealed Firearms

Two more states have now been added to the majority of states in the USA which allow the concealed carry of firearms without the need for a permit or license from the government.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed Bill 1 into law March 5, 2024 (effective July 4, 2024) and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed Bill H. 3594 into law March 7, 2024 (effective immediately), bringing the total number of constitutional carry states to 29 allowing anyone 18 and older who is eligible to own a handgun to carry it concealed in public without a permit.

New Edition of Hostility Against Churches Report Shows a Doubling of Attacks

The newest edition of Family Research Council’s (FRC) Hostility Against Churches report suggests hostility against US churches has rapidly accelerated.

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

FRC identifies 436 hostility incidents in 2023—more than double the number identified in 2022 and more than 8 times the number identified in 2018, the first year for which FRC collected data.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Church Security: Church Crisis Response Checklist ]

Notable findings in the 183-page report include:

Self-Defense and Church Security: Make Scanning Your Priority

The article, Priority of Scan – An Officer Survival Necessity by Calibre Press instructor Lt. Kelly DeVoll (ret.) is written for the readership of professional police officers. But it also has much bearing for individual self-defense and church security situational awareness. Here are the major points adapted for civilian practice:

•   In keeping with Col. Jeff Cooper’s observational “Color Code,” we must always avoid complacency (the color “white” in the Code) when in public; nothing should be considered mindless routine. Instead, cultivate a mindful routine. [The Color Code can also be described using adjectives: White = Complacent; Yellow = Observant; Orange = Hazard; Red = Action.]

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

•   When you’re interacting with a person, that person, potentially, is “one of the most dangerous creatures on earth.” You must visualize and assess any means of attack that person could use against you. To that end, develop this priority of scan sequence and use it continuously: hands, waist, face, head-to-toe.