church security – SemperVerus

US Circuit Judge Video Records Expert Gun Tutorial Dissent to Anti-2nd Amendment Court Ruling

US Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke The San Fransisco-based US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled 7-4 March 20, 2025 to uphold California’s ban on standard-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 cartridges.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, 20 Reasons to Concealed Carry a Defensive Firearm ]

The case was a Second Amendment challenge to California’s 2016 law that bars possession of such magazines.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Senior US District Judge Declares Gun Magazine Capacity Limits Unconstitutional ]

The US Supreme Court in 2021 remanded the lawsuit back to the Ninth Circuit following the high court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, US Supreme Court Affirms Right to Carry Arms in Public for Self-Defense ]

The Ninth Circuit’s latest ruling says California’s ban does not violate Second Amendment rights because such magazines are not “arms” within the US Constitution’s meaning, nor are they protected accessories.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Important Judicial Decisions Regarding Self-Defense Law ]

But US Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke demonstrated the logical reason for his dissent by video recording himself handling several personal handguns and explaining their mechanisms to educate viewers on why his judicial colleagues wrongly upheld the California law.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Federal Judge Rules Illinois ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban Unconstitutional ]

VanDyke took apart and put together various handguns while making the conceptual case that a gun magazine, regardless of capacity, is part of the gun itself and is therefore protected by the Second Amendment.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Brief Answers for People Who Are Against the 2nd Amendment ]

He said he hoped through the video to show how a lack of familiarity with firearms resulted in the flawed 7-4 decision.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Wyoming Repeals Gun-Free Zones in Most Public Places ]

He said the majority relied on “its invented ‘arms–accessory’ distinction as an on/off switch for fundamental constitutional protections.” He said the majority “lacked the basic familiarity with firearms to understand the inherent shortcomings” with its rulings.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Concealed Carry Daily Prayer ]

Watch the video below:

Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team

Emanuel Kapelsohn The Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network (ACLDN) is a membership organization that helps members in the legal fight after they justifiably use force in self-defense by paying for the services of attorneys, expert witnesses, private investigators, and more. It also educates members in the law governing use of force in self-defense and how armed citizens can protect against unmeritorious prosecution.

Attorney, court expert witness, and ACLDN Advisory Board member Emanuel Kapelsohn, president of The Peregrine Corporation, and author of the House of Worship Firearms Use of Force Policy Bundle is interviewed in the ACLDN Journal on the subject of “Organizing, Training & Running a House of Worship Armed Congregant Security Team.” Below are the complete 2-part video interviews, links to the Journal print articles, and bullet points of salient information from the interview:

By semperverus
Posted on 03/19/202503/19/2025

Wyoming Repeals Gun-Free Zones in Most Public Places

Effective July 1, 2025, Wyoming Bill HB0172 will be the law of that state, removing dangerous gun-free zones in K-12 schools, colleges, most public buildings, the state capitol, and most public places.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Criminals and Terrorists Overwhelmingly Select Gun-Free Zones For Mass Attacks in Public Spaces ]

Gun-free zones are dangerous because research shows that 94% of mass shootings over a 69-year period occurred in “gun-free zones,” locations where signs are posted stating weapons are not allowed to be carried on the property, which only responsible law-abiding citizens abide by and criminals see as magnets for their murderous intent since they know their killing will go unchallenged.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Brief Answers for People Who Are Against the 2nd Amendment ]

The new law states that anyone lawfully carrying concealed weapons in Wyoming may carry a concealed weapon in the following places:

By semperverus
Posted on 03/14/202503/14/2025

Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 2)

This is the follow-up post to the first article about how Blue Arrow Consultants trains church security teams in handling Active Violence Incidents (AVI) in their houses of worship.

SemperVerus attended the two-day, more-than-six-hour training session at a Michigan church building with that church’s security team. It consisted of two hours of classroom teaching and four hours of live-action AVI scenario training with inert Glock blue guns and Glock 19X Gen5 Airsoft pistols and protective clothing.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Tactical Training for Individuals and Church Security Teams to Thwart Active Violence Incidents (Part 1) ]

The course instructor was Del Kostanko, police trainer and founder of Blue Arrow Consultants, LLC, who teaches that knowing how to assess and respond to threats can lessen the need for force, reduce the chance of physical harm, and minimize liability.

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

Disruptions during church services and events are generally benign, without violence, and can be solved using de-escalation techniques and skills.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Gentle Response De-Escalation Training for Church Security Teams ]

But, in the rare case of an AVI, church security teams must know how best to work cohesively to appropriately and courageously stop the deadly threat. SemperVerus highly recommends Blue
Arrow Consultants to expertly train your church safety team in the best practices of SWAT methods to properly prepare for when very bad times happen.

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

The following is merely a small sampling of the excellent lessons Del taught, along with photos of some of the physical execution of those lessons in staged scenarios: