Schedules are funny things. Months ago, I knew that September of this year was going to be consumed by a wrongful death trial in Federal court on one coast and a murder trial on the other, with some days allotted for the Texas Bar Association’s annual Firearms Law Seminar, and the Gun Rights Policy Conference. That left only a couple of days at the end of the month for a regular training class, which is what I’m doing as I write this.
When not one but both trials postponed (not an uncommon occurrence), I figured the Evil Princess and I might have a few rare days of free time.
No such luck. Nature abhors a vacuum. An opportunity came up to take a Ruger new product seminar, at the awesome FTW Ranch in Texas. It coincided well with the Bar Association seminar. An annual periodical I used to write was resurrected when a publisher bought the rights to the title from the original publisher, which had closed its doors earlier in the year…and the deadlines were coming up close.
There was also an invitation to lecture in the town where I live on how Stand Your Ground laws actually work, and to be guest speaker at a local Republican Committee meeting where I advised them not to take gun owners for granted because a whole lot of them were inclined to cast protest votes for a third party.
Each of those opportunities turned out to be useful and enjoyable, so I really can’t complain.
Christmas. Yeah, that’s it. I’ll relax around…Christmas.
Any chance for links to videos of those seminars? Or do I need to not be lazy and reset my YouTube password and catch up? ?
Always good to be busy. Cheers!
Mas, we’re so glad you are out there and busy. What you have to say is sorely needed these days. Keep doing what you are doing, get some rest, and stay healthy. I wish I could see you on the FoxNews Channel as much as I see Judge Napolitano and Rob O’Neill. It would also be great to hear you on WABC Radio 770 AM in the NYC area. If they don’t interview you, you could still call in sometime.
Would that be Christmas 2016 or a later one? >};o)
Stay busy Mas. That’s all I can do myself.
Knowing you and the schedule you keep up you’d have been adrift.
Be glad you’re still able to keep that kind of schedule. Getting old ain’t for sissies.
Mas,
Your mention of your involvement in a “wrongful death” trial sparks a question in me that I have long wanted to ask. What (really) are the options for dealing with civil liability arising from a defensive shooting?
It seems that there multiple things can affect it, in addition to the specific details of the shooting. What can a concealed carry holder do to prepare to face civil liability? For example,
1) in some States, State Law provides some protection against liability. For example, in my home State of Tennessee, State law (See TCA 39-11-622) provides some immunity against civil suits for a “clean” shoot. However, this is limited. What are typical State-Law immunity limits?
2) What would be the role of ordinary liability or umbrella insurance coverage vis-à-vis a defensive shooting?
3) What about specialty products for people who carry? There is some information on this topic (http://www.armedcitizensnetwork.org/buyersguide ) but, again, it is limited.
I would dearly love to see a comprehensive article (or set of articles if the subject is too broad for a single one) that provides general information on this area. Maybe you could tackle the topic at some point?
“Protest votes for a third party”???? That kind of action will doom us.
Not voting or a vote for anyone other than Trump is a vote for Hillary. You may not like him but you MUST vote for him else we will be kissing our firearm rights goodbye. Yes, it is voting for “the lesser of two evils” but the greater evil is SO evil that we MUST defeat her. The ability of the next President to seat one or more Supreme Court Justices is what should be making every gun owner lose sleep. Halloween scary? Nothing compared to Nov 8th….
A note about the new Ruger IV you mentioned. I would have sold my two previous models and bought that one but it has a magazine disconnect feature preventing firing without mag. Deal breaker. Too many lawyers!?
TN_MAN, the laws vary widely on this. Some states don’t have the liability immunity you mention, and those which do require that the shooting have been determined in one way or another to have been justifiable/self-defense. Not being charged, or even being tried and acquitted, is not necessarily the same as a self-defense determination. Most insurance policies will exempt the company from having to pay for a willful tort, i.e., a deliberate act which harmed another, and self-defense by definition tends to be a deliberate act. Finally, since I’m associated with ACLDN, it would be a conflict of interest (or at least appearance of same) for me to compare it with other such organizations.
Hoping everybody is looking at Todd Orr on Facebook after his encounter the other day in Montana with a grizzly sow with cubs. One amazing selfie, I’d say. A memorable (partial?) failure with pepper spray. You can’t discount the pepper entirely–it may have helped to save his life, or it may have just further enraged the grizzly. He doesn’t mention why he didn’t use a firearm to back up the pepper spray. He estimates that the sow charged from 80 yards away. One of the more graphic survival videos extant. There is no school as hard as Mother Nature. I wonder how Todd will prepare for future events. Glad he survived, though. Pretty much a miracle.
Mas,
So many variables! It makes it hard to do any preemptive planning to handle the liability.
I understand the willful tort concept. Nevertheless, might not an umbrella liability policy still prove useful under certain circumstances?
For example, suppose a concealed carry holder is set upon by a criminal gang that attempts an armed robbery. Furthermore, assume the event occurs in a State which offers immunity from civil liability for a case of justifiable self-defense.
The CCL holder resists with a gun and drives off his attackers. During the incident, he fires his weapon several times. One of his attackers is hit and wounded. He is sent to the hospital and then arrested by the police upon his release.
Unfortunately, an innocent bystander is also hit and wounded. The shooting of the attacker is judged to be self-defense. The shooting of the bystander is judged to be an accident.
Both wounded men sue the shooter who has an umbrella liability policy. As you note, the policy won’t cover the shooting of the attacker since it was a willful tort. However, this particular shooting should be cover by legal immunity under State law since it was judged to be self-defense. The case ought to be dismissed.
The shooting of the bystander would not be covered by State law immunity. Nevertheless, since it was an accident rather than a deliberate act, would not the umbrella policy have to cover it? Is it not possible that the mix, of State civil liability immunity combined with umbrella liability insurance, would handle both civil claims?
I can anticipate your answer. This is a question for a lawyer who practices in my State, right? 🙂
TN, you’re right about wanting to discuss this with a lawyer in your state who specializes in that sort of case. I suspect he or she will tell you that an umbrella policy covering negligence SHOULD cover you on hitting the innocent bystander, since negligence will be at the core of that plaintiff’s allegation.
Ain’t just the lawyer you need to talk to: it’s the insurance company, as to the fine print of such situations.
And my take on this post is that you are very fortunate that Herself is a very understanding sort who knows what your schedule is like and can be. I too am blessed with not only a chance to stay busy pursuing my passion (my own catering business) but also having an understanding lady who gets that you have to pursue opportunities when they come your way.
Mas,
Thank you for the information. It is useful stuff.
I have an umbrella policy. I think the first step will be to read that policy in detail to see what it says it will cover! 🙂
Then, when I talk to the insurance company, I might have some idea as to what questions to ask.
@two gun steve
Been there done that. I was about 3 feet from the cub but I reacted faster than mama. In my case, I ducked into the proverbial brick shithouse. I don’t trust OC because I once dumped a can of LE grade stuff on a dog with no effect. I still carry the bear spray because I don’t really want to shoot one but I also carry backup.
OK Mas, Christmas maybe… but which year exactly ? : )
Richard: You must have been in a park near one of their sturdy outbuildings when you met the bears. Thanks for the review of OC vs. dog, too. The OC is not living up to its hype.
TN_MAN: Waiting to hear more about the umbrella insurance. Self-defense against animal attacks seems to be handled similarly to other self-defense.
Mr. Orr did have a G20 (10mm Glock) in his backpack when the bear began her attack from 80 yards away. Gentlemen, I cannot imagine what would make you use the spray instead of the Glock when you have the blessing of that distance. I know which one I would have used.
“I’ll relax at Christmas.”
What year? After I “retired” the list of stuff I’d put off hit.
Kidding aside , how’d the SYG event go?
On magazine safeties, I carried sidearms equipped with them for over 20 years and found the fuss about them much ado about nothing.
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