Firearms Training

Guns and God – a Few More Aspects to Consider

Dr. Piazza –

Let me tell you a story about my personal experience with guns in church.

A few years ago,  I had the opportunity to start a manufacturing plant in Guatemala, Central America, which I designed to be a commercially viable (no donations needed) job and skill training project to bring modern technology jobs to the  disadvantaged people of this struggling democracy.  The primary purpose was to benefit the people, but it was structured as a for-profit business venture so that it could be self-sustaining.  It worked without donations, and without government assistance.

Before moving to Guatemala with my wife and children, I familiarized myself with the risks.  I understood that we would be living in a region that was plagued by a protracted and violent civil war.  Upon arrival, protection of…

Read the Rest of the Article: Guns and God – a Few More Aspects to Consider July 2nd, 2009

More about guns and God – your responses, cont.

Dear Doctor,

I always enjoy your emails.  On this latest one you really hit the nail on the head (pun intended).  Have you ever seen the western movie “Shane”, starring Alan Ladd?  There is a line in the movie that says it exactly:  “A gun is just a tool and it is as good or as bad as the man using it.”

Enough said.

Dean B.

—–

Dr. Piazza

Thank you for your e-mail about God and guns.  I have a carry permit, and I carry even while I’m at church. My pastor is all for it, he has said that GOD has given us a duty to protect our loved ones, and that means even in church.

I feel good about my abilities to hit what I aim at, and have taken a few courses where…

Read the Rest of the Article: More about guns and God – your responses, cont. July 1st, 2009

More about God and Guns

Dr. Piazza,

We teach a Concealed Weapons Permit class as a community service and to implement the word of our Lord as in the Bible, book of Luke chapter 22, verse 36.

Jesus of Nazareth tells his disciples to get swords (the arm of the day) and those who do not have swords should sell their cloaks and buy swords.

The context is that Jesus had sent his disciples out to spread his word and a couple of them had gotten mugged on the road. References are earlier in the book of Luke and in the book of Matthew.

Christian theology has always advocated self defense, defense of others, and defense of community.  Pacifism is a perverted deviant dogma that is not founded in Christianity.  I have always felt that pacifism is a rationalization…

Read the Rest of the Article: More about God and Guns June 30th, 2009

Ignatius Piazza: God, Guns, and a 5 for 1

I have never quite understood why some people believe that God has no place for guns.

It must be that such people, through lack of knowledge and training, mentally attach such a negative personality to the gun that the thought of a pastor or church member carrying a gun to protect the flock offends their sensibilities.

A gun is an inanimate object. It is no different than any other tool.

A hammer in the hands of a carpenter can be used in a positive manner to drive a nail and build a church. The same hammer in the hands of a deranged violent criminal can be used to cave in your skull!

In the same context, a gun in the hands of a responsible, trained citizen is a tool that can be used in…

Read the Rest of the Article: Ignatius Piazza: God, Guns, and a 5 for 1 June 29th, 2009

Ignatius Piazza: Shotgun in Your Face and .380 in Your Pocket…

What would you do if you were staring down the barrel of a shotgun, with a hooded man demanding your money or your life, but all you had in your pocket was five dollars and a .380 pistol?

Here is a very candid, post-shooting incident interview with a man who experienced exactly this situation and the law enforcement officials handling the case.

There are many real world lessons to be learned in this very rare and extremely educational video interview…

This is a video you are not likely to see very often.

Watch the video and then see my comments below as I point out important lessons to be learned from this incident.

First, let me…

Read the Rest of the Article: Ignatius Piazza: Shotgun in Your Face and .380 in Your Pocket… June 22nd, 2009

Ignatius Piazza: The Price of Freedom…

There are always obstacles we must overcome in our efforts to positively change the image of gun ownership through training hundreds of thousands of responsible Americans at Front Sight.

I push through the challenges because I believe, as our Founding Fathers did, that a gun in a citizen’s trained hands is truly the tool to preserve our freedom for generations to come.

Even so, there are times when I wonder if the 20-hour days and all our efforts to restore the Second Amendment is truly worth the price— and if the rest of America really cares at all.

Well, here is a video that reaffirmed to me all that is good about America and that any effort to help protect our freedom, no matter how challenging or difficult, is always worth the price.

I…

Read the Rest of the Article: Ignatius Piazza: The Price of Freedom… June 19th, 2009

Ignatius Piazza: Time to Arm and TRAIN the Good Guys…

Every week I see more and more stories about pharmacists, jewelers, convenience store clerks, security guards, doctors, business owners, and other professionals getting robbed, assaulted or shot.

In almost every case, when a good guy is in the wrong place at the wrong time, a gun and PROPER training would have made a significant and positive difference.

Folks, it is time to arm and TRAIN the good guys!
As we have seen, just having a gun — even when using it — is not enough in many cases.

I want you trained better than Law Enforcement standards so you know when to shoot — and more importantly, when not to shoot…

And if you need to shoot, I want you trained to hit and incapacitate the threat immediately without injuring innocent bystanders or getting yourself thrown…

Read the Rest of the Article: Ignatius Piazza: Time to Arm and TRAIN the Good Guys… June 15th, 2009

Ignatius Piazza: Your Verdict in the Pharmacy Shooting…

I must say that last week’s blog, How to Get Charged with Murder, created the greatest number of responses in the history of this blog.

I spent hours reading thousands of your responses and tabulating the verdict of “Guilty” or “Innocent.”

So, here is your collective verdict…

Some of you simply responded with a single word, either  “Guilty” or “Innocent.”

Some of you provided several paragraphs of explanation as to why you were deciding on your particular verdict.

A significant number of you believed he was technically guilty, but could not morally convict him because he did not start the fight and the robber ultimately got what he deserved.

An equally significant number of you expressed pain in doing so, but you would have to find him guilty.

There were also a number of you who believe…

Read the Rest of the Article: Ignatius Piazza: Your Verdict in the Pharmacy Shooting… June 8th, 2009

Ignatius Piazza: How to Get Charged with Murder…

In a gunfight, there is a very well defined line between justifiable use of deadly force and murder.

Unfortunately, in the heat of the gun battle you are only going to be half as good and half as smart as you are on your best training day, simply from the stress of a lethal encounter.

As a result, the well-defined line between legal use of deadly force and murder can become quite blurry.

Here is real surveillance video that shows how quickly you can go from justifiably using deadly force to being charged with murder.

Understand that – universally – you are only justified to use deadly force when your opponent shows the ability, opportunity, and intent to immediately inflict serious bodily injury to you or those around you.

However, you are only justified to…

Read the Rest of the Article: Ignatius Piazza: How to Get Charged with Murder… June 1st, 2009

Ignatius Piazza: Memorial Day Thank You for All Veterans and Their Families

Most of you do not know that a decorated WWII Marine who saw action on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima provided the single greatest influence in shaping my interest in firearms.

It can be said with total certainty that had he not made the effort to introduce me to the importance of weapons in the hands of responsible citizens, and shared with me the comfort of skill at arms, Front Sight would have never been born so many years later.

I met him as a wet-behind-the-ears young man. He later became my father-in-law.

We spent many evenings together watching westerns and any movie that featured John Wayne. He shared with me the sacrifice that men and women of his generation suffered to allow our country to remain free for the…

Read the Rest of the Article: Ignatius Piazza: Memorial Day Thank You for All Veterans and Their Families May 25th, 2009