Gun Safety-
GACA's #1 Priority
"Guns are inanimate objects, but are also the greatest tools ever conceived by the mind of man to insure our continued existence and freedom to live as we see fit, under God. Those who would deny us that right are saying they're doing this for 'public safety' and nothing could be further from the truth. You don't make a man, woman, child (protected by adults, with guns) or neighborhood safer by taking the tools of defense from their hands (legalized theft) and then allowing them no possibility to defend their lives, their families, their homes, neighborhoods and property from criminal elements. Along with that ownership comes the grave responsibility to learn to handle (potentially) deadly instruments in a safe manner to maintain the owner's life and health, and that of those who he or she is in close proximity to. "
Bo 'Rontu' White
GACA Founder/Director
Safety Issues
Education
An educated (trained) gun owner is a safe gun owner. No one is born with an innate ability to handle a gun with safety, and everyone from brand new owners to old hands at guns should consider it an obligation to learn the rules of safe gun handling and to get refreshed and re-trained as their time with guns grows into years of ownership and carry. Sometimes those newest to guns are the safest, because the power of these deadly instrument is fresh in their minds, and they have not had years of handling them in order to become complacent, as some do. There should never come a day when we feel like we know everything about guns and safety that we possibly can, and the man or woman who has the 'don't tell me, I already know' attitude is one I don't want to share a room and gun proximately, with.
4 Levels of Awareness/Readiness
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White: Unaware and unprepared. If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be "Oh my God! This can't be happening to me."
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Yellow: Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that "today could be the day I may have to defend myself". You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that "I may have to shoot today". You don't have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don't know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to "Watch your six." (In aviation 12 o'clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft's nose. Six o'clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are "taking in" surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, "I might have to shoot."
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Orange: Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to "I may have to shoot that person today", focusing on the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status. In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: "If that person does "X", I will need to stop them". Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow.
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Red: Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. "If 'X' happens I will shoot that person" - 'X' has happened, the fight is on.
Cooper's Rules
Colonel Cooper's rules of safe gun handling:
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All guns are always loaded!
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Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy!
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Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target!
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Always be sure of your target! [and what's behind it/backstop].
Who Is Colonel Cooper?
Early life and education
Cooper graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in political science. He received a regular commission in the United States Marine Corps in September 1941. During World War II he served in the Pacific on the USS Pennsylvania. By the end of the war he had been promoted to major. He resigned his commission in 1949, but returned to active duty during the Korean War, where he was involved in irregular warfare, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. After the Korean War, the Marine Corps declined his application to remain on active duty. In the mid-1960s, he received a master's degree in history from the University of California, Riverside.
Career
In 1976, Cooper founded the American Pistol Institute (API) in Paulden, Arizona (later the Gunsite Training Center). Cooper began teaching shotgun and rifle classes to both law enforcement and military personnel, as well as civilians, and did on-site training for individuals and groups from around the world. He sold the firm in 1992, but continued living on the Paulden ranch. He was known for his advocacy of large caliber handguns, especially the Colt 1911 and the .45 ACP cartridge.
Cooper died at his home on the afternoon of Monday, September 25, 2006 at the age of 86.
Gun Types
Does GACA believe that a person who is a good (non-criminal) citizen should be restricted to certain types of guns?
Absolutely NOT. The founders wanted citizens who were warriors, not wimps! By the actions they took while they were establishing our federal government we may see that parity of power by the citizens with the governmentally organized military was a top priority, for them.
What about assault rifles?
Keep in mind that a gun is an inanimate object, and that there is no such thing as an 'assault rifle'. See the previous paragraph about parity and readiness. If they have them, why not we? A rifle or any other kind of gun can be used for assaultive (criminal) purposes, but the onus is on the person holding the tool, not the tool, itself!