December 2007
Monthly Archive
Jeanne Assam - Herorine receives Award from 2nd Amendment Foundation.
Posted by Gene on 19 Dec 2007 | Tagged as: Genes Corner
NEWS RELEASE SAF HONORS COLORADO’S JEANNE ASSAM WITH ELEANOR
ROOSEVELT AWARDBELLEVUE, WA – For her remarkable display of heroism
and courage under fire, the Second Amendment Foundation announced today
that it will recognize Jeanne Assam, who confronted a gunman on Dec. 9
at the New Life Church shooting in Colorado Springs, with the Eleanor
Roosevelt Award.
The Roosevelt award was created by SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, co-author
of America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age. The award
honors exceptional women who use firearms in self-defense and the
defense of others. The award is named in memory of former First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt, who frequently carried a revolver for personal
protection, even while she lived in the White House, and during the
times that she campaigned in the South for civil rights.
“Jeanne Assam, an armed private citizen who volunteered to provide
security at the New Life Church, was suddenly faced with a deadly
emergency and without hesitation, disregarding her own safety, she rose
to that challenge,” Gottlieb said. “By confronting a killer,
Assam undoubtedly saved many lives.
“The news media, perhaps to try diminishing Ms. Assam’s bravery
and the significance of her intervention, have revealed her dismissal as
a Minneapolis police officer several years ago,” he added. “We
concur with church Senior Pastor Brady Boyd, who observed that all of us
have past experiences we may regret, and that she should not be
`convicted or crucified for being a heroine.’ Today, the entire
nation should be proud of Jeanne Assam, and grateful that her life’s
path led from Minneapolis to Colorado Springs.
“Jeanne Assam did an incredibly brave thing under circumstances that
could easily be described as above and beyond the call,” Gottlieb
stated. “Every day in this country, armed private citizens defend
themselves or others, frequently preventing or stopping crimes. Their
actions go largely unrecognized and more frequently ignored by the press
and public officials who would rather suppress the notion that Americans
can fight back.
“We created the Eleanor Roosevelt Award to recognize the efforts of
armed women who practice personal safety,” Gottlieb concluded.
“In Jeanne Assam’s case, we are honoring a truly remarkable
woman who placed herself in harm’s way for the safety of others. We
are humbled by her good and noble deed
Run To the Gun Fire & DO SOMETHING!!
Posted by Gene on 12 Dec 2007 | Tagged as: In the News
Recently there have been a number of shootings around the country where an individual has just indiscriminately opened fired on a group of people, randomly shooting and killing. The most recent, reported over the weekend, was at a Church in
What was different about this situation was how it ended. It is reported that Jeanne Assam a church member who had a pistol and a concealed weapons permit, (CCW), heard the shots, she ran to the sound of the gun fire and stopped the attack by shooting and killing the attacker. Most likely she saved dozens of lives.
In spite of the tragedy of lives lost and the after action trauma this woman will most likely face, there is some small good that can come out of this awful situation and that is this; because of this brave woman’s example we have an opportunity to Re-train at least some of the American population about How to react in a situation like this and how NOT to simply be Victims.
I have spent much of the last 27 years as a Professional Security Consultant, Bodyguard, Firearms Instructor and served a brief stint in law enforcement. Much of my training came from
Almost all of the recent attacks have been perpetrated by a single gunman. And, while the thought of attacking a shooter while unarmed is daunting, it may be the only road to survival.
I won’t pretend that I understand what is going on in the mind of these sick people. It is unfathomable to me to take innocent lives for absolutely no reason other than some sort of self-hatred. But, under extreme stress most people, including these violent individuals, experience “tunnel vision” which limits their focus down to what is happening immediately in front of them and reduces their peripheral vision. You can use this to your advantage by attacking the shooter at an angle or from the back or side. But you HAVE to attack. Throw things, run and tackle the shooter and keep on fighting.
But what happens if I get shot? There have been hundreds, even thousands of police related shootings where the bad guy was hit multiple times and didn’t immediately stop, go down or die. Often these people have survived an incredible number of gun shot wounds from trained professionals and have later walked into court unassisted. By attacking a shooter you may very well be severely wounded, possibly even critically and you might die later. But unless you are hit in one of a very few small, vital, and instantly disabling places on your body (brain, heart), you will be able to continue to fight for 30 seconds to a minute or more. In that amount of time you can quite possibly stop the attack.
What is the alternative? Run and be shot in the back or cower and be executed? By all means, if you have a second to take hard cover you may do so in order to quickly assess the situation, but Then you have to ACT FAST. To be in motion is to stay in motion. So it is better to be moving and attack.
In reality it is very hard for an untrained gunman to hit a moving target, especially one coming toward him with projected force. It’s almost impossible to consistently hit multiple targets that are swarming a shooter (we have demonstrated this time and time again in training). So IF we could change the mind set of Americans, so that they decide that they will Not allow themselves to be Victims, but rather will Fight in a situation like this, you might find that you are not alone in your response. It is very unlikely that he could stop all of you.
There is the possibility to attack with greater safety when a shooter has to reload, or when there is a jam or malfunction. But in reality you can not wait for these opportunities if you want to live and protect the lives of others. You must act and change the balance of control.
When attacking if possible throw objects at the attacker which can distract them and upset their perception of control and balance. This may fluster them thus slowing down the momentum of the attack and potentially saving lives. Again the point is DO SOMETHING.
Note: This morning, AFTER I wrote the above statements, it was revealed today that another UN-ARMED worshiper at the church in
That is when you have to attack without a weapon. However, it is far better to respond to a shooting by shooting. A well placed bullet can travel the distance between you and the attacker in a fraction of a second. Thankfully the number of licensed concealed weapons permits held by private citizens like Jeanne Assam is climbing across the country, particularly in States that recognize the advantage of armed, responsible individuals. We all need to encourage this practice and make sure that we can protect ourselves by requiring every State to change their laws to provide an opportunity for law biding citizens to protect themselves and others. This is a step in the right direction towards creating an environment of Individual Responsibility for ourselves first and then the protection of our neighbors.
Law enforcement and other officials have taught the public for last 40 years; “Don’t get involved, let the professionals handle it”. While these instructions were given with the best of intentions, this is obviously a failed approach when dealing with this type of situation and so we must re-train America’s citizens to ACT on their own to protect themselves, thus protecting others. While I greatly respect and am Thankful for law enforcement officers, paramedics, firemen and other public servants, we all must realize that to wait in a situation like this, is to risk losing your life and the lives of many others. So the time to prepare yourself is NOW. You must decide what you are going to do before it ever happens and hopefully it never will. How you train is how you will likely react.
I feel so strongly about this that I am going to give away a video that we produced in
www.AmericanGunsmith.com , click on “Shooting Technique” in the left hand column. Then click on the “Israeli Instinctive Combat Shooting Method” It will list the retail price when you put it into the shopping cart, but you will only be charged $5.97 shipping and handling (see the notes in the description). Please enter the promo code of Presoffer07(Expired) in the promo code at check-out.
(this Promo code has now expired. We still have this video for purchase at the normal $35.00 on our site.)
I am giving you this valuable video at no charge because I want you to have the information. Maybe it will save a few more lives. This offer is only good until 12-31-07 or until I run out of stock. You can also call Call 1-800-797-0867 and Leave a message with your name, complete address, credit card number for $5.97 shipping cost and a phone number. We will ship it out to you in the next 7-10 days. This is a one time limited offer subject to stock on hand.
Let’s all agree NOT to be victims and to try and protect our neighbors.
If you agree with the content of this email, feel free to pass it along to all your friends.
Best regards,
Gene Kelly
President AGI
President Executive Protection Products Inc.