We live in difficult times, and crime is part of life. You can’t have an “it will never happen to me attitude.” Instead, you need a plan and people in your corner in the event you need to protect yourself, your property, or your loved ones.
by Jace Bauserman
We’re living in difficult times. The stock market is volatile, and prices of items ranging from milk to meat to household cleaning supplies are off the charts. Political divisiveness only adds to the problems.
I didn’t mean to start this piece off on such a depressive note, but facts are facts, and being a history buff, I know one thing: The worse things get, the more the wolves come out.
Wolves are predators looking to prey on the weak. Flip on the news and immerse yourself in daily homicide stories, gang shootings, robberies, grand theft auto, et cetera. When things look bleak, crime jumps. Why pay $4 for a gallon of gas when you can steal it? Why buy a new alternator or starter for your truck when you can case a neighborhood, find your make and model of truck, and steel the parts you need? Why go to work for minimum wage when you can rob someone at gunpoint and take what you want?
I’m not a criminal profiler, but I imagine, for some, these are the questions they ask themselves.
Increased crime has led to an increase in gun ownership, concealed carry licenses, and ammo sales are off the charts. Some manufacturers still note they are more than a year backorder on some caliber makes.
Conflicts will arise when more law-abiding citizens are armed, and crime is on the uptick. Various school districts across the country are training and arming their staff because, sometimes, violence is the answer.
Take a recent Florida situation where property manager Jose Flagler (fake name to protect identity) was forced to use lethal force against one of the residents.
“It was obvious my client went through great lengths, lengths that put his life in danger, to avoid using lethal force,” said his attorney Ernest Chang.
Chang, a Board Certified Criminal Lawyer, has been practicing for 32 years and has a remarkable record. Because of Chang’s love of firearms, his deep respect for the law, and his want to see the future of firearms secured, he is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association and signed up with Firearms Legal Protection (FLP) as an attorney.
Chang noted that his client, Flagler, showed remarkable restraint.
“There was a confrontation between a resident of Flagler’s community, where he is the property manager, and Flagler made every effort to alleviate the situation without having any direct contact with the homeowner, “said Chang. “However, the homeowner aggressively approached Mr. Flagler, and Flagler made every effort to escape the homeowner. He tried to get barricaded inside his office building and was successful, but the homeowner broke into the building and pursued him. Flagler then wanted to secure himself in his private office, but the homeowner would not stop and broke into the office.”
According to Chang, all of the events were caught on videotape, which helped the process go ultra smooth, but once the homeowner entered Flagler’s office, Flagler still tried to avoid using lethal force.
“Once the homeowner entered the office, he once again started physically attacking my client,” Chang said.
“My client tried using pepper spray first, which didn’t stop the attacker. He was taking a beating, and he was left with no choice but to use lethal force. My client fired one shot, which hit the aggressor, and the encounter was over.”
As cut and dry as a case like this seems, people can twist it a million ways, which is why it’s essential to have legal defense at the ready, such as Firearms Legal Protection.
“The Flagler family reached out, and I was able to get back to them immediately,” Chang noted. “I was able to speak with my client’s wife as my client was being interrogated, but together we got the process rolling. Because of the cameras and the overwhelming amount of evidence, I quickly convinced the detectives in charge that this was a lawful shooting, and the officials elected not to arrest and not charge my client. The other individual in the case, the man who was shot, was arrested.
“I made sure to stay in contact with my client and his family as the case played out. He had my cell phone number, and I followed up with him regularly. I like to think I did good by him and did well by FLP.”
For more information about FLP, visit their website and review their trio of plans. Their most popular is the Individual Premium, but they also offer Individual Basic and Family Premium.
Most of us have car and health insurance and wouldn’t dream of not having them. What happens when you are in an accident, and your new $70K truck is totaled, and you weren’t at fault? If you have vehicle insurance, it’s not your problem. You reach out to a professional and take full advantage of the services you’re paying for. This way, you’re not over your head, and things get handled properly.
If you’re involved in a self-defense situation and use lethal or non-lethal force, the process isn’t as cookie-cutter as television makes it look. You can be arrested, interrogated, and possibly face criminal charges of your own if you don’t have a team of people committed to protecting you when you must defend yourself.
Our advice: Check out Firearms Legal Protection today, and if the worst should happen, you’ll be protected from the get-go.
