Sunday, February 21, 2010

Detroit Michigan CCW CPL Class - Saturday, March 13th, 2010

We are pleased to announce another CCW/CPL Class of this year! So, if you have a desire to qualify for a Concealed Pistol License, so that you can feel safe, register for our next class.

Location:
Southfield Hampton Inn
27500 Northwestern Hwy.
Southfield, Michigan 48034

Option I

Pay Tuition in Advance ($150) and Save $25! (Total Cost: $150 + Range Expenses)

Option II

Pay Tuition ($175) within 7 days before class.
(Total Cost: $175 + Range Expenses)

Register at our site: http://www.detroitccw.com

Range expenses will be incurred at the range to handle gun rental, range time, ammunition costs, and a fee for a target. The estimated fee is $35.

Our class starts at 8:00 a.m. sharp!

Detroit Michigan CCW CPL Class - 99 - December 28, 2008






FREE Michigan CCW Licensure Seminar - Sat. 2/27/2010

Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit is sponsoring a FREE 90 minute seminar on the state of Michigan's Concealed Pistol License (CPL). This event was designed to inform the community about all aspects of the CPL which may be of interest to anyone considering licensure:

What Is A Concealed Pistol License?
What Can I Do With A Concealed Pistol License?
What Are The Requirements For Obtaining A CPL?
How Can I Select A Credible Firearms Training Provider?
What Is The Application Process?
How Long Does It Take To Receive A CPL?
How To Appeal A CPL Denial?
Question And Answer Session

This event is open to the public and is FREE of charge. Attendees must register for one of three scheduled sessions so that adequate accommodations can be arranged prior to the training session.

Enroll in only one session!

Session A: 8am - 10am RSVP FREE => http://tinyurl.com/ylr2v3x
Session B: 11am - 1pm RSVP FREE => http://tinyurl.com/yk8k7ef
Session C: 2pm - 4pm RSVP FREE => http://tinyurl.com/yh4t2s4

About The Trainer
Rick Ector, Chief Instructor of Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit, holds the following credentials from the National Rifle Association: Appointed Training Counselor, Chief Range Safety Officer, Range Safety Officer, Life Member, Authorized Membership Recruiter, and Certified Instructor (Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Personal Protection, Home Firearm Safety, and Metallic Cartridge & Shotgun Shell Reloading).

Further, Mr. Ector has been featured in the media. Among his many appearances are the following: NRAnews.com "Cam & Company," "Urban Shooter Podcast," The Associated Press, Fox News Detroit, The Detroit News, WJLB's "Gurl-Bye," and WGPR's "Real Talk."

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Every Day Law-Abiding Citizens Anonymously Defend Themselves From Criminals

As a Firearms Trainer and gun rights activist, I get engaged in a lot of discussions - online and offline - about the Second Amendment and gun ownership. In a number of those conversations, an anti-gun person has tried to argue the position that law-abiding citizens should not carry guns because they aren't as skilled as criminals and will not be able to defend themselves.

The anti-gun folks argue that armed law-abiding citizens create another liability for the community. It is beyond their empty rhetoric and belief system that a selected victim can both draw and shoot an assailant - in many cases without suffering an injury.

Rather, the eventual outcome that the anti-gun people like to paint is that of a gun owner who is surprised by a predator and can't act which leads to having his gun taken away from him, being shot with his own gun, or having another illegal gun in the community.

I won't totally side-step the issue of how "skilled" some criminals are in their abilities to commit violent offenses: rape, murder, and robbery. However, I would be remiss if I did not state that all perpetrators of violent crimes are not experts at their trade.

In fact, many criminals are fairly inexperienced and use unloaded firearms to ensure they don't hurt their victims. They are "counting on" their victims to fold once they see a weapon formed against them. Of course, there are also vicious criminals in our community who would kill their neighbors at the drop of a hat to quell the pains of their drug habits.

Obviously, anti-gun people do not regularly read the newspaper or watch the nightly newscasts, because if they did they would have been made aware of several publicly documented cases where citizens who were lawfully armed did just that - defend themselves, their loved ones, and their homes.

Furthermore, everything that happens in our community and elsewhere doesn't make the news. In some cases, as told to me by several suburban law enforcement officers, a concerted and deliberate effort is made by local suburbs to keep their crimes from being reported in the media. In other cases, a simple editorial decision at either the newspaper or the broadcast station keeps certain stories from being publicly divulged.

Moreover still, a significant number of crimes and successful defenses of crimes are not even reported. I can personally attest to not reporting to the police unsuccessful attempts on my safety and others who were with me at the time. Also, I stay in regular contact with my students - via Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and this blog - who have made me aware of how they defended themselves but did not report the matter to the authorities.

Finally, in a national survey conducted by Florida State University's famed criminologist Dr. Gary Kleck in 1993, it was determined that roughly 2,000,000 handgun defenses are executed in the US every year by law-abiding citizens. You just haven't heard about them.

Bottom Line:
Don't let a weak and unsupported argument from an anti-gun crusader keep you from joining the ranks of US citizens who are prepared to defend themselves from the unprovoked and violent attacks of predators. Every year, law-abiding citizens defend themselves and their families. You can be one of them. Buy a handgun and get trained on how to use it.

Monday, February 1, 2010

How To Shoot Yourself Out Of A Self-Defense Claim: Overkill

Although the state of Michigan recognizes the usage of lethal force for self-defense, under a narrow band of circumstances, it is possible to "shoot" your way into a murder charge. This article will discuss when lethal force is authorized and when it can become excessive force - overkill.

In Michigan, lethal force is authorized when a person is:
somewhere he has a legal right to be, and is not committing a crime, and has a reasonable and honest belief that he or some other third person is facing an imminent threat of severe bodily harm, sexual assault, or death.


Furthermore, the lawful usage of lethal force does not grant the user a "License To Kill." A user of lawful lethal force is only authorized to "shoot to stop the threat." Accordingly, once the threat to the user's safety has ended, so too must end the defense. After all, once a threat has ended no further defense by the victim is necessary.

It is understood that an assailant may die as the result of a lawful defensive action, however, that was not the demonstrated intent of the victim. The intent was to stop the threat. Accordingly, each incident has to assessed for legality based on the specifics of that case and other variables: number of assailants, presence of weapons, size disparity, gender disparity, age disparity, and etc.

The law does not specify how many times an assailant can be shot, as long as the threat exists. It could be necessary for a victim to shoot a would-be assailant several times to stop the threat. In many cases, predators wear heavy clothing or are under the influence of drugs that inhibits their ability to feel pain. In other cases, one direct hit may be all that is required to successfully mount a defense.

A self-defense claim can be compromised if the victim "goes too far" by continuing to shoot someone who is no longer a threat to her safety. In one case study, taught by an attorney in the Concealed Pistol License (CPL) Class that I conduct, a victim finds herself in a life-or-death situation in which she is forced to defend herself with her firearm.

In this specific case, her handgun had an ammunition capacity of 12 rounds but her "assailant" had 16 bullet wounds. The obvious conclusion is that she had to reload her firearm, at some point, to shoot her attacker that many times. The problem arises when the shooting is investigated by the local police and the County Prosecutor. It is hard to convince investigators that someone with 12 bullet wounds was still a threat to her safety.

It is plausible to argue that a life-or-death scenario does not afford a person a great deal of discretion when using their firearm against a threat. If she had just shot her assailant with the rounds already loaded in her firearm - up to 12 cartridges - she probably wouldn't have been charged with manslaughter. The Prosecutors had a hard "buying her argument" that her assailant was still a threat after being shot 12 times and that she needed to reload her firearm to shoot four more times.

Bottom Line:
Michigan law authorizes lethal force under a narrow band of circumstances until the threat has been ended. By definition, a person can no longer be defending himself against a person who is no longer a threat. The scenario, if carried too far, could cause a role-reversal where the victim can become the aggressor and ultimately face a murder charge. If you have an interest in learning more about the lawful usage of lethal force in the state of Michigan, you should take a bona fide CPL Class from a credible and knowledgeable firearms trainer.

[Video] Michigan CCW Class: Teaching A Shooter

[Video] Absolutely Terrified Woman Overcomes Her Fear And Shoots A Handgun