Preparing to Neutralize Threats
Dr. John Woods 08.22.16
There was a debate recently in the Mississippi Legislature over the right to carry a weapon in church without having to have a concealed weapons permit. This is to allow church members to protect the congregation in the event of an attack in the sanctuary or elsewhere in church such as what happened some months ago in a South Carolina church.
In most municipalities in America, we can already carry or have a gun in our homes or other properties, such as a bug out camp, and in some cases the right transfers also to our personal vehicles. Castle Doctrine laws permit homeowners to protect themselves on their property without backlash of arrest or civil suits, given an actual threat of live or limb to person or family.
The bigger question is, are we prepared to neutralize any such threat to our person? By this I mean are we not only physically equipped to do so by having available a suitable selection of self-defense arms and ample ammunition, but are we prepared mentally to assert ourselves in the face of a direct confrontation that has elevated to a life or death situation?
I am also not implying the exercise of our armed rights to shoot somebody that is stealing a bicycle out of the front yard or garage, but rather a circumstance more serious such as a home invasion or personal assault at the gas station or grocery store. I am talking about imminent bodily harm. How prepared are we to save ourselves?
Such preparation comes from training both in terms of physical ability, but also becoming mentally prepared for self-defense. Remember the scene from the movie Sniper where Billy Zane froze in the helicopter as the enemy shooter fired upon them. He was not mentally prepared to take the shot. We have to fairly recognize that it much easier to talk about than perform.
A self-defense shooting course is the first step in preparing yourself to guard against an active shooter confrontation whether at the mall or at your front door. Qualified instructors use proven curriculums and shooting skills practice to fine tune your response and abilities to react to a wide variety of threat situations. Consider taking such a shooting course at a range near you.
