transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:09] This is Armed American Radio's Daily Defense.

Speaker 2:
[00:14] Armed American Radio's Daily Defense, because they don't want me to, that's why I do it.

Speaker 1:
[00:20] From the CZ Studios.

Speaker 2:
[00:22] They're never gonna stop us here.

Speaker 1:
[00:24] Here is your host, the loudest conservative voice in America fighting the enemies of freedom, Mark Walters.

Speaker 2:
[00:33] Welcome in on a Monday for you. No Andy Hoosier today, no UFOs, no UAPs, no cool disclosure stuff. We'll get to Andy later. We're here at the National Rifle Association, continuing some taping, because we have so many amazing people here that we want to take advantage of and talk to. Now, and I say take advantage of, I mean that. I want to take advantage of as much of your time as I possibly can. So welcome inside the CZ Studios with me today, guys. Mark Walters filling your prescription for freedom on this Patriot Mobile mic at the Command Center. All of it's been relocated to Houston, as you know. You've heard that ad nauseam, but I have to give the NRA the shout out, and you should be joining the NRA at nra.org/aar. Take advantage of everything that the NRA has to offer. This hall is just packed, and it's been so fun over the last few days to be here and be such a huge part of it. I hope you've enjoyed the programs that we've brought to you from the Convention Center. So we're going to continue that today. Yesterday, in the third hour of the broadcast, you heard Howard Snyder with us from Attorneys on Retainer. We're keeping Howard here because we just simply did not have enough time in that segment, and I want to continue the conversation. Let me say, welcome back to you. Shaking your paw again. Welcome back. We didn't get in, time gets away from us, as you know. So let's bring you to the Monday show.

Speaker 3:
[01:43] Sounds good.

Speaker 2:
[01:44] And let's talk a little bit about, let's kind of recap what we talked about yesterday, and that's how important it is to have a lawyer in your hip pocket, which is what that card represents.

Speaker 3:
[01:51] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[01:51] You are my lawyer. I don't physically have to carry you around, because I have that card that says, you are my lawyer. I pick the phone up, I call you, and bam. And I know from experience that you guys are literally going to be on scene during an investigation, an initial investigation, correct?

Speaker 3:
[02:09] If we can be physically there, we are going to be physically there. We make every attempt to talk to the detectives on scene. But if you are a member, you make that emergency call, you are going to be speaking to an attorney within just a couple of minutes. And that's the Strike Force team in action.

Speaker 2:
[02:25] Shut your mouth, talk to your lawyer.

Speaker 3:
[02:27] Just shut up.

Speaker 2:
[02:28] There we go. Now, you wanted to talk about some other issues yesterday that we didn't get into. So I'm going to say, the mic is yours, the floor is yours, have at it.

Speaker 3:
[02:36] Well, one of the things we've had at the booth, we've had some common questions come up, and one of those was all about FRTs. So when we talked about forced reset triggers, the bottom line is you've modified the firearm in some way. And prosecutors love it when you modify a firearm in any way. It doesn't matter that you're doing it because it makes it safer.

Speaker 2:
[02:56] You've just opened up a conversation, and I'm making a mental note of that. I have questions. We may have to keep you another segment. I'm just letting you know that.

Speaker 3:
[03:04] I'm good. I got all day for it.

Speaker 2:
[03:05] OK, so now relax. We're not on the... If we have to carry into segment two, we will, ladies and gentlemen. You'll see why in just a second. Go ahead.

Speaker 3:
[03:11] So when you're dealing with any modification to your firearm, and it could be very benign, such as adding a red dot, it doesn't matter. Prosecutors are going to look at that as you being gun happy, you wanting to shoot somebody, and they're going to take any modification and try and magnify that for whatever. You need an attorney on the other side, arguing, hey, the modification makes it safer, you're more accurate, you're less likely to cause collateral damage. But those are arguments in the court room. So just know the prosecutors are looking at anything that you do to the firearm as a negative against you.

Speaker 2:
[03:45] And now let's talk about prosecutors for a second. A lot of questions are coming to mind here that people need to understand. So I know some of the answers to these questions. I want the answers for the benefit of the listeners here. What's the prosecutor's number one function?

Speaker 3:
[03:59] They'll tell you it's to seek justice.

Speaker 2:
[04:01] That's a bunch of crap and we all know it.

Speaker 3:
[04:03] As a former prosecutor, I left the prosecutor's office because I didn't see myself doing justice. It was just a mill that they ran cases through. You're just a cog in the system. You fit their paradigm of whatever plea offer they're going to offer. And if you don't have an advocate on your side pushing your set of facts, pushing your story, showing that you're just not a normal cog, you're going to get steamrolled by the government.

Speaker 2:
[04:30] Their job is to convict you.

Speaker 3:
[04:31] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[04:32] And they will do anything in their power to convict you.

Speaker 3:
[04:34] They boast a 90-plus percent conviction rate. That's really hard to get around.

Speaker 2:
[04:39] And the old adage, I can indict a ham sandwich is true.

Speaker 3:
[04:43] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[04:44] Because I don't have the benefit of being in a grand jury room, the prosecutor gets to say anything they want to a grand jury. Which is why it's so easy to get an indictment.

Speaker 3:
[04:53] A grand jury is a one-sided presentation where all they have to do is convince the grand jury that there's a reasonable belief that you committed the crime.

Speaker 2:
[05:01] And if I live in a state or district that is gun unfriendly, gun unfriendly, gun unfriendly, they're going to charge me with a crime, and that prosecutor is going to use my conviction as a tool to get reelected.

Speaker 3:
[05:15] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[05:15] Because this is a political position. Now, I could go on about all that. That's nonsense in my estimation. That's unfair. I was called to jury duty at one point, and it was a self-defense case. A young kid was claiming self-defense. Two people were killed. He was being charged with voluntary manslaughter. That was all they would tell us for the jury instruction as we were getting ready to be questioned by both sides as they were selecting the jury, and they would only tell us that a firearm was involved. They hit me for questions. I was number one or number two for the questions. One of the questions from the prosecutor was, can you be objective in a self-defense case? I said, of course. I said, I'm a Florida Concealed Carry permit holder. Within seconds, both attorneys approached the judge, who cut microphones off. They talked for five minutes and immediately dismissed me.

Speaker 3:
[06:05] Just because you exercise your freedom.

Speaker 2:
[06:07] I'm the guy that they wanted on that jury. If the prosecutor is really concerned about seeking justice, I'm the person they wanted on that jury. And I'm the one the prosecutor wanted out. Because I'm a threat to his conviction because I carry a firearm. That to me is garbage.

Speaker 3:
[06:27] But it happens every day.

Speaker 2:
[06:28] Every day.

Speaker 3:
[06:29] Every day. And you need that attorney by your side that can make the argument to keep you on the panel. I don't know what happened in that case. I don't know why the defense...

Speaker 2:
[06:39] They argued up there for five minutes, and they thanked me for my time. And I was the first pool called. So I had to spend the rest of the day sitting there doing nothing. And that was before smartphones, brother.

Speaker 3:
[06:49] I like you. I ended up as the prosecutor. I got pulled into a jury duty. And they say, what do you do for a living? I said, I'm a prosecutor and named the agency. And the prosecutor literally turned around and smiled, OK? And but I said, to be fair, because I know the process, I said, to be fair, I've turned in my notice, and I become a defense attorney in 30 days. The defense attorney turned around and smiled. And unlike you, I was the last one cut. I was in that panel for the entire eight hours.

Speaker 2:
[07:20] So if I was going to sit there and rot all day, I'd rather have been there all day. But again, like I said, smartphones, I didn't have anything to scroll. I sat there, and I think I read every Time Magazine article, no matter what it was about in regular newspapers during the time. I'm dating myself. But nonetheless, yeah, it's a frightening situation. And I've often wondered what happened to that kid that was sitting at that table all day. I have no idea. I didn't get his name. And I've tried to go back and find out and pulled it up. I've pulled the dates. I've gone back to search. I've often wondered whatever happened to that young man, if he was convicted of, I don't know. And I'll never know. I would assume at this stage of the game, all these years later, if he was, he's likely out by now if he survived his prison experience, which is not something you want to have to worry about, ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 3:
[08:04] But sitting in a courtroom, it's not like being on TV.

Speaker 2:
[08:06] Right.

Speaker 3:
[08:07] Okay. I mean, you've got the judge over there, you got a jury panel that are supposed to be a jury of your peers.

Speaker 2:
[08:12] Which it never is.

Speaker 3:
[08:13] It never is. And then you have the prosecutor, usually with their police officer, case agent right there, and then it's the attorney defending the defendant. That's it. And TV is just the highlights of a trial, over exaggerated for theatrical purposes, dramatic purposes, but when it's real life and death on the line, it's a whole different level of stress. And I do give it to the jury when they get the case. You pray they deliberate and do what they need to do. But it's a crap shoot when you go to trial. And you better be well armed when you walk into that courtroom.

Speaker 2:
[08:50] Yeah, well armed, metaphorically speaking, is, guys, you're not well armed if you start this process by having to seek an attorney to begin with, rather than just have one. And the peace of mind that comes to me knowing that I have that, I mean, I do sleep easier, Howard. I really do. I feel better knowing that when I'm carrying my firearm, and look, I carry a firearm because I've already, I know that bad things can happen. It happened to me. I knew before that happened that it could happen to me, which is why I chose to carry a firearm at least part of the time until that day, and then it became all of the time. And I'm like, no, I'm just like everybody else, just like you are, whether you're an attorney, whether you're a talk radio host of Armed American Radio, I go through these scenarios in my mind all the time. What happens as I'm walking out from a Walmart, and I scan my area, I do these things. I often wonder what happens, or what would happen if this is, and I wonder, and I started to go there with you last night on the show, and that was, can we overthink it to a point where we actually get ourselves in trouble? Is that possible? Have you ever run into that? I'm just curious.

Speaker 3:
[10:01] I've never run into somebody who's overthought it. You get into trouble by not thinking about all the scenarios. You really, in professional athletes, they go through visualization exercises. You've got to do the same thing when you're carrying a firearm.

Speaker 2:
[10:14] All right, when we come back from the break, I can keep you here for a minute? Absolutely, yeah.

Speaker 3:
[10:18] I'm good to go.

Speaker 2:
[10:18] Because these are fun conversations, and people need to understand. Ladies and gentlemen, again, you hear me talk about it every day, and there's a reason for that. attorneysonretainer.us. And they've got a huge booth over here. I can't tell you now to go see them at the booth, because, well, the show is over, and we're already home. But we are taping here, and a lot of you already have, and a lot of you have already come up to me and thanked me for turning you on to Attorneys On Retainer. We'll be back right after this. The following segment of Armed American Radio is proudly being brought to you by the National Rifle Association. Help us defend freedom by visiting nra.org/aar and join today. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, CZ Studio, still coming to you, taped, but a fascinating conversation. We're going to continue the conversation with Howard Snader. He's an attorney, self-defense attorney, with Attorneys on Retainer. And let's continue, right where we left off prior to the break, that hard four-minute break interrupting us. We get back to it now. I have so much that I want to cover with you, and I throw this disclaimer out to you listeners. I'm not going to be able to get to all of it. I'm just not. There's not enough time in the hour, Howard. But we'll do the best that we can to cover as much ground. And ladies and gentlemen, if that means I have to leave a few things on the table to move to another topic, we will do that. And I think we're there now because I do want to continue right where we left off the last time. Thinking about these scenarios, take it away.

Speaker 3:
[12:07] Well, you had mentioned that somebody getting accosted in a, like a store parking lot.

Speaker 2:
[12:11] Yeah, a Walmart parking lot.

Speaker 3:
[12:13] So we just had a case where our client, an older gentleman, walking out of a box store.

Speaker 2:
[12:19] When you say older gentleman, how old?

Speaker 3:
[12:21] About 60, 61.

Speaker 2:
[12:23] Okay.

Speaker 3:
[12:24] A little bit overweight, and he's just walking out of the store having made a small purchase. He's going to his car in the parking lot. He's accosted by a transient that was in the parking lot. They knew he was around. The guy starts beating him up, and our client was about 50 pounds underweight compared to the other guy, 30 years older than the other guy.

Speaker 2:
[12:44] So that's also included, even though it's only one of salent, that is still considered disparity of force, right?

Speaker 3:
[12:48] It can be, and in this case, it was.

Speaker 2:
[12:50] Because of the size difference and the physical condition?

Speaker 3:
[12:54] Our client had some physical issues. It started out with just being pummeled on the ground, and at some point, he thought, our client thought, he was really going to be injured much more worse than that. And he had appendix carry, drew his firearm, guy stopped dead in his tracks and got off.

Speaker 2:
[13:11] So he never had to fire a shot?

Speaker 3:
[13:13] Never had to fire a shot.

Speaker 2:
[13:14] Very lucky.

Speaker 3:
[13:15] He's very lucky. He's also very lucky that police were there within seconds. They were just happened to be close by. They investigated him. They seized his weapon. And once they determined that...

Speaker 2:
[13:29] That happens. I'll stop you. That happens every time.

Speaker 3:
[13:32] Every time. The cops are going to seize the weapon to make the scene safe for them. And then whether you get your firearm back at that point in time is up to the investigating officer on the scene.

Speaker 2:
[13:42] So that's where we get into the for officer safety excuse to seize your weapon even though they may have known that you acted in lawful self-defense. Innately, they will know that.

Speaker 3:
[13:55] They either like to think they would know in this case that our guy acted in lawful self-defense, but we can't ever expect that. Can't expect that, and they're going to take that weapon, even though it was not fired, even though it was secured and in the holster when they got there, they're going to take the weapon for their safety. And you may or may not get it back, or if you're one of these states that have administrative rules about what you can carry, the type of firearm, or how you carried it, where you carried it, you may not get it back if you violated one of those administrative regulations.

Speaker 2:
[14:24] Well, and that takes us to our new program at NAOR. And I can kind of segue into that briefly, because if it's one of those regulatory deals, you guys will carry that out pro bono, which is legal speak, ladies and gentlemen, for free at no charge.

Speaker 3:
[14:38] Well, not pro bono. You're a member. You're paying your monthly fee.

Speaker 2:
[14:41] Okay, well, pro bono, $37 a month for you guys to get that covered at no additional cost. That's free to me.

Speaker 3:
[14:47] Yeah, and we will cover it. If the administrative action takes place, the regulatory action takes place as a result of a self-defense act, you are covered.

Speaker 2:
[14:55] Okay, now, all right, I have to ask, what state did that occur? Can I ask?

Speaker 3:
[15:01] No, because it's still an ongoing case.

Speaker 2:
[15:04] Can I ask if it's a gun-friendly state or a gun-unfriendly state?

Speaker 3:
[15:07] It is a very gun-unfriendly state.

Speaker 2:
[15:09] Okay, and ladies and gentlemen, I do not know what state it is. That's all I need to hear. I can decide for myself that it's probably one of between six and thirteen states that I'm aware of, and if I could go down the list, eventually you would shake your head yes and wink at me, but I don't need to know that. I just need to know that it's a gun-unfriendly place. So that makes it even more of a challenge than if that were to happen, oh, say, I don't know, in one of the northern red suburbs of Atlanta, where the prosecution is going to look more favorable to me in a gun-friendly state.

Speaker 3:
[15:46] Yeah, you're more likely to get it back with no issues in that situation.

Speaker 2:
[15:50] Firearm comes back to me in a better state. So I'm not telling you to move, ladies and gentlemen, although if you can in some of those places, I would highly recommend it. Stay and fight the fight. But anyway, you guys deal with these every single day.

Speaker 3:
[16:03] Every day.

Speaker 2:
[16:04] They happen every day, don't they?

Speaker 3:
[16:06] Every day, every state. And the circumstances are always changing. And that's what I love about the law is maybe the general concept is the same, but how you attack it, how you defend it. It's great to sit down at a table with other attorneys of similar legal experience and just hash through the possibilities. And that's why it's so great to have a team on board.

Speaker 2:
[16:29] I want my listeners to hear the answer to this question. Can I trust the law to be applied fairly across the board?

Speaker 3:
[16:37] No. I mean, that's the absolute goal, but no.

Speaker 2:
[16:43] And how important is that to know going into something like this? Because I know, the reason I ask that is because I know you know that. And that's going to play a role in your defense of me based on where I am, what the prosecution's mindset may be, what the individual circumstances are, even though we've played it over in our minds, we never really know until it happens, if it happens, and it becomes the worst day of our lives, you become the constant that we know is going to be there while the law may not be.

Speaker 3:
[17:18] And you may have acted-

Speaker 2:
[17:19] Did that make sense?

Speaker 3:
[17:20] Yeah. And I mean, the biggest issue that you have, though, is you may have acted in self-defense. Now you got to prove it. And normally, you're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. You don't have to prove anything. But especially if it's a self-defense claim, that's what we call an affirmative defense. And you have to raise it. You have to acknowledge that you committed the underlying offense, but you did so because you had the reasonable belief that you or somebody else was in risk of serious physical injury or death.

Speaker 2:
[17:46] Well, you mentioned affirmative defense. I'm familiar with all of this. And I've never really thought about it in these terms. Is every self-defense case an affirmative defense? It would seem to be, in theory, no matter where you were, no matter what the law says about it, it really truly is an affirmative defense, which means you're presumed innocent, but you have to prove your innocence in the affirmative manner, which is why that term exists.

Speaker 3:
[18:07] Correct. I mean, self-defense as a concept doesn't even apply if you did not commit the crime.

Speaker 2:
[18:13] Correct.

Speaker 3:
[18:14] So in this case, the crime could be a misdemeanor assault, a fist fight, it doesn't matter. It could be a firearm use. But you have to admit that you did what you're being accused of doing, even if it's shooting somebody. You did it, but you're legally justified. That's an affirmative defense. You're legally justified to act that way. And as long as your conduct is reasonable, that's self-defense.

Speaker 2:
[18:36] I'm going to ask you if you can stay for another segment. I may even keep you for the hour. Is that okay?

Speaker 3:
[18:40] Absolutely.

Speaker 2:
[18:40] Because I have two different scenarios I want to run through with you, and I'd like to know how AOR would respond to these. One of them was something I was reading about in a Facebook post by an attorney in a particular case, and I brought up a point that turned into hundreds of responses back and forth. I opened up a can of worms with the response, and I'll go there in just a moment. And I also want to point to a situation that actually happened to me about three or four years ago, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, gorgeous bright blue day, driving with my vet with the top down, up to get food because I had family in town and I was getting ready to fire up the grill when something unfolded in front of me and I became a witness while I was openly carrying. And I'll explain all of that when we come back from the break as well. But ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're paying attention to this. These are fun conversations to have, but they're also frightening conversations to have because they can happen to you if you carry a firearm. And if you carry a firearm and you don't have an attorney, you're naked, and you don't want to be that person that smacks yourself in the head, says, just get off the fence, reach into the couch, take the money out of the kids' piggy bank jars, do what you have to do, and spend the 37 bucks a month. We'll be back with Howard from Attorneys on Retainer right after the break. The following segment of Armed American Radio's Daily Defense is being brought to you by Patriot Mobile. Visit patriotmobile.com/aar and use the AAR promo code to get free activation today. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. Please go out of your way to visit all of our partners and sponsors, please, at armedamericanradio.com or.org. We got you covered, because we love you. armedamericanradio.com, and you can find all of our fantastic sponsors there. I'm going to continue this conversation. In the essence of time, these are fascinating conversations, and we're talking with Howard at Attorneys on Retainer. We're going to continue this call, or continue this conversation. I want to take you in two personal directions, that one of them happened to me, the other one is a chat. I kind of opened up a can of worms on a Facebook post. And let me just give you the lowdown as to what occurred, but it was a case where the prosecutor had made a decision to prosecute, claiming that the individual who was claiming self-defense, and it came up in questioning, and it was attacking Colonel Cooper's four rules of gun safety. Okay, finger off the trigger, know what's behind your target, etc., all that. But the one, never point your firearm at something you're not willing to destroy. It was the word destroy that the prosecutor was using against him in court. The individual died, and he was being charged with murder. And he said, you were taught that you never point a firearm at anything you're not willing to destroy. You destroyed this man and killed this man. And I thought to myself, I can't believe that's even coming up. It would seem to me that any great self-defense attorney would be able to argue around that all day long. Well, that opened up a huge conversation on this. Now, I don't generally participate in these stupid, pseudo-intellectual, psychobabble, you know, nonsense conversations, but it opened up a lot of questions. There were some very intelligent people, and there were some other attorneys in there. Will they go? I mean, obviously they do. In this case, they did go that far to use those words. People were talking about, well, we should change that. It shouldn't be the word destroy. And I chimed in with the following. That's BS. Because if I'm even able to draw my firearm lawfully, I'm also able to shoot it lawfully. Let's start there, correct?

Speaker 3:
[22:47] Destroy is a mindset. And you're taught how to handle firearms in a safe way. When you're taught, you know, you assume whatever you're pointing at, whatever you're shooting at, is going to be destroyed. Because you're putting the fear of whatever into your own head, you don't want to make a mistake. If you're going to take action, if you're going to act in self-defense, if you're going to use a firearm, you're using that firearm for one reason. Destroy? Yeah, unfortunately, that's what it's going to be, but that's what it is. And I look at it, you're trained not to do that. You're trained, you're conditioned to avoid it at all costs.

Speaker 2:
[23:27] Until it happens.

Speaker 3:
[23:28] Until it happens.

Speaker 2:
[23:29] Then when it happens, if I have a right to defend my life, in my estimation, I have a right to destroy my attacker. So I thought there was nuance there. And the prosecutor, it just told me some things I could be... If I was, I like to say this on the air a lot. If I'm a betting man, I'd bet this was a blue state, this was some weird Soros-funded prosecutor who's trying to attack the nuance of a word when in reality, it's the individual who chose. Because part of my response was, look, that individual, I've often said on the show for many, many years, Howard, the moment you make the decision to go after someone else and strip them of their right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, you lose your right to all three of the above instantly. And if it results in your own death because of your own stupidity and decision to do that, because someone else chose to protect their life, liberty, and responsibility, that's on you. I'm taught to shoot center of mass in training, here. If you don't think that round is going to destroy what it hits, you're out of your ever-loving mind. And to go after that word from nuance like that, well, this guy was eventually convicted according to the post. So that raised other questions. Maybe, and I did bring this up in my post, maybe it wasn't really a case of self-defense. Maybe there's other mitigating circumstances that I'm out there. I have to be fair and think that way. But just that argument itself, if I'm going to shoot you, and I've been taught to shoot center of mass, I'm not shooting to kill you, I'm shooting to stop you as a threat. If you die in the process, that's your damn fault. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Speaker 3:
[25:06] No, I don't think you're wrong, but the prosecutor is making an argument that, okay, the bad guy can destroy you. Your reasonable belief is that the bad guy can destroy you. You're not allowed to protect yourself in the same way. Correct. So, no, if the prosecutor wanted to go down that angle, I would like to think that we would tear him to shreds. But...

Speaker 2:
[25:24] That's what I would like to think. And with what limited knowledge I have from that legally, that's why I opened that thread up and started that argument intentionally, because I didn't see anybody else going in that direction. And as I said, normally, I wouldn't involve myself in that, but it was too easy to do. And it just seemed to me, I thought about you guys, how would you respond to this? This looks like nonsense to me. You should be able to argue that all day long.

Speaker 3:
[25:49] You're taught those four rules for a reason, and they're repeated. Every time you go to the gun range, every time you take a new shooter out, you tell them those rules. If you take them to a gun range, they have to watch a video with those rules, because you need to understand how dangerous a firearm can be if it's used incorrectly. Not because you're wanting to destroy something, but because in the event you have to use it, that's going to be the end result.

Speaker 2:
[26:12] Yeah, to me, I found that interesting. It just said to me a lot about the prosecutor, you know.

Speaker 3:
[26:18] But that's what a prosecutor is going to do, though. They're going to inflame the passion of the jury. They're going to target a word like that. And they're going to just dive in and keep pushing until the jury convicts.

Speaker 2:
[26:28] The defendant acted to destroy this man when he could have shot him in the leg. I mean, you know, you hear these stupid things all the time. And that was part of what I mentioned too. At what point is the prosecutor going to say, well, why didn't you just shoot him in the foot? That would have stopped. I mean, at some point, if we're going to hear these arguments, that's coming next.

Speaker 3:
[26:50] I wish everybody was accurate, even police officers, to be able in that instant to shoot accurately.

Speaker 2:
[26:55] Doesn't work that way in real life, does it?

Speaker 3:
[26:57] Doesn't work that way. Watch any video where, you know, they just empty a magazine and maybe half the bullets might hit their mark.

Speaker 2:
[27:04] Yeah, and you guys have these cases, by the way, on your website. So let's kind of segue over there, because you guys have video testimonials. You got the podcast out there with Mark and Andy.

Speaker 3:
[27:12] Yep.

Speaker 2:
[27:12] All right, tell us about the website, too. I've got one more segment. I might as well just ask you if you can stay.

Speaker 3:
[27:18] I can stay.

Speaker 2:
[27:19] All right, good deal. I don't want to force you now. We're having too much fun. So let's talk a little bit about the website, what people see when they're there, when they get to the page.

Speaker 3:
[27:29] When you get to the Attorneys for Freedom page, the actual law firm, on the Attorneys for Freedom page, you get to meet us. Our bios are out there. We give you a brief description of what the law firm can do and our experience levels. And we're not like most law firms. I mean, we have three, currently three board certified experts in criminal law who happen to only be practicing in self-defense. We have other attorneys that are working towards their certification. You need to understand the certification is unique. As a law firm, with three board certified specialists on board, we're the only law firm with three, and we have another attorney that's going to be getting it shortly. So we will be the law firm with the most board certified specialists in house.

Speaker 2:
[28:13] You are the largest that does this in the country, correct?

Speaker 3:
[28:16] We're the only law firm that specializes only in self-defense matters.

Speaker 2:
[28:20] Wow. And you mean there's really enough self-defense cases? The left tells us that this never happens.

Speaker 3:
[28:26] Trust me when I say self-defense happens every day. We get calls for a strike force team every day.

Speaker 2:
[28:31] Every day?

Speaker 3:
[28:32] Every day from across the US. So it's going to happen. Is it going to happen to you? Hopefully not.

Speaker 2:
[28:39] But if it does, ladies and gentlemen, that's the importance of this. You know, get your head out of the sand. Quit reading the headlines, ladies and gentlemen. You know, self-defense does happen every single day. And as you know, the estimates are anywhere from, I mean, Obama's own Department of Justice survey found at least 180,000 times a year.

Speaker 3:
[28:57] Keep in mind, you don't know when that traffic accident is going to happen. You're just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but you're prepared. But you're prepared. But it could happen to you.

Speaker 2:
[29:07] Yeah, and guys, it doesn't matter if a gun's involved either. I can't stress this enough. It makes no difference if it's a gun or not. It doesn't make any difference. Whatever you happen to use in defense of your life at that moment in time, the self-defense team at Attorneys on Retainer, at the Attorney for Freedom Law Group, is going to help you. They're going to be there for you. And Howard, you know, it just dawned on me, Rachel's going to be coming by. So I'm going to give you a break. Okay. And I'll let Rachel take the final segment so you can get up out of the seat. Matt, I appreciate you so much being here. This has been fun. There are fun conversations. I can't wait to get back out and hang out with you guys back at the offices. It's always fun to do, and Arizona's my favorite place to be. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be back after this. Don't go away. If you own a firearm, you know that a self-defense incident can happen anytime. That's why you need Attorneys on Retainer. They're the only self-defense program backed by real attorneys who specialize in self-defense cases. Visit them online at attorneysonretainer.us. Welcome back. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. I'm gonna wrap up your Monday for you. Sitting across from me is Rachel from Attorneys on Retainer. Rachel, it's wonderful to have you back on the program. Last time we were together, we were in Phoenix, Chandler. I guess there's a distinction. Chandler is different than Phoenix.

Speaker 4:
[30:43] That's what we say.

Speaker 2:
[30:44] And we were at the Attorneys on Retainer. Oh, and it's Rachel Moss. I want to make sure everybody knows that. That we were at the Attorneys on Retainer offices there at the law firm. And now here we are in Houston, Texas. So it looks like we get around.

Speaker 4:
[30:55] That's right. It's been such a good show so far. Been all over the place here. Been talking to so many people. It's been amazing.

Speaker 2:
[31:02] Well, it's good to see you here. That's why I like being face to face with everybody. You know, I think you might be, if I look back in my mind's eye, you might be the only guest I've ever had on more than once that all of your appearances, I can say, have been face to face. That's very unusual. I love it. So that's kind of cool. So you are a starter of a new club, the face to face club. You're it. Is this your first NRA convention with AOR?

Speaker 4:
[31:28] No, my first with AOR was back in Dallas a couple of years ago.

Speaker 2:
[31:31] Okay. So you've been around the block. Tell me what you think of what you're seeing here now today.

Speaker 4:
[31:37] I love it. And I'm sure other people say this, but whenever I'm in a convention like NRA, I just feel like I'm in the safest place in the United States.

Speaker 2:
[31:45] In Texas too, of all places, right?

Speaker 4:
[31:46] In Texas.

Speaker 2:
[31:47] Because I know you're seeing people walk around openly carrying firearms, which is a beautiful thing. I had Attorney General Todd, he's acting Attorney General Todd Blanch on the program yesterday, and he had a Secret Service detail with him, which is always kind of cool to see. And there are people standing around outside the Secret Service, it's a little cordon-off thing that they do, openly carrying firearms is not a fear, not a care in the world. Don't you wish everybody would just figure that out?

Speaker 4:
[32:11] Definitely. And it's amazing, because I feel a little spoiled coming from Arizona.

Speaker 2:
[32:15] Yeah, you are. I'm just going to tell you that in advance. I'm jealous.

Speaker 4:
[32:18] And I'll thank the good people of AZCDL for supporting our gun rights out there.

Speaker 2:
[32:23] A life member here.

Speaker 4:
[32:24] I love it too. And I feel so lucky that in Arizona, people can open carry. I remember the first time I had a friend visit from out of state coming from Virginia and visiting in Arizona and seeing people open carry. And they said, Oh, my God, did you see that? They have a gun. They have a gun. And I'm like, of course they do.

Speaker 2:
[32:46] It's Arizona.

Speaker 4:
[32:47] We're in Arizona. And even in places where you're allowed to open carry in other states, it's not as common. People don't really exercise that right. So it's really cool.

Speaker 2:
[32:55] Well, OK, you bring up a great point. If you're not exercising your right, do you really have that right?

Speaker 4:
[33:01] Exactly.

Speaker 2:
[33:02] Now, Alan Gottlieb at Second Amendment Foundation will go as far as saying a right denied, right? Look, if you guys exercise your right to bear arms. Now, some people don't like to open carry. That's fine. I understand that from a tactical standpoint. I do both, and I've been open carrying in Georgia for a long, long time. And I used to take my kids when they were real little to the everything. It's the Home Depot deal. I think it was the first Saturday of every month, a little build things back when they were like knee-high to grasshoppers. They were just little types that really depended on you, right? And I would openly carry there with all the other parents there, building the little bird feeder or whatever it was. The only questions I ever got was, what are you carrying?

Speaker 4:
[33:40] Right. And I think it's so good because it normalizes it to people. And especially, I love it that children were around. I feel like nowadays with children not seeing firearms as much, there's this push to keep children away from guns, that it adds to the mystique of firearms. So when they see one for the first time, maybe unsupervised, something irresponsible happens.

Speaker 2:
[34:02] Now they know and that's up to the parent to do it. And that's opening. My kids have seen my guns. When my son was six or seven years old, he could disassemble and reassemble my glass.

Speaker 4:
[34:09] I remember I shot a gun for the first time at four years old.

Speaker 2:
[34:12] Oh, wow. You're way ahead of my curve. I was ten or I think I was 11 or 12. It was a shotgun. Ten to 12, somewhere in that range.

Speaker 4:
[34:19] And it was good because when you're four and you're shooting a gun, it actually is a little scary. And you realize you're able to understand the gravity of what you're handling. And you're taught from a young age those important safety mindset for a firearm. And it really shaped my whole life and I think really contributed to why I'm very comfortable around guns.

Speaker 2:
[34:41] So let's kind of segue that to what you do now. We'll tell people what you do, I'll let you tell.

Speaker 4:
[34:46] Well, I'm a criminal defense attorney. I work for the Attorneys for Freedom Law Firm, the only law firm in the United States exclusively committed to self-defense. Also work with attorneys on retainers, self-defense legal protection program. Love every minute of it.

Speaker 2:
[34:58] Now, since you and I talked last, and we were live broadcasting this show in Chandler at your conference center, that was back in February?

Speaker 4:
[35:10] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[35:10] Is that right? So it hasn't been that long ago. Have you actually handled a self-defense case since then?

Speaker 4:
[35:18] Too many to count.

Speaker 2:
[35:20] See, I knew the answer to that question. I didn't know how many, but the answer is yes.

Speaker 4:
[35:23] I've got cases thrown out in that time.

Speaker 2:
[35:25] See, we were talking with Howard about that, and I think to a lot of people, it shocks them. You mean that happens all? Yes, it does. You've handled too many to count in just the two months since we've met live. I think that's really interesting to talk about. You've had some thrown out. Have you lost any?

Speaker 4:
[35:45] I have not lost any.

Speaker 2:
[35:46] Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, Attorneys on retainer.us, I have the card in my wallet because it was given to me by Lauren yesterday because I left mine at home. So she said, oh, I got another one. So she gave me another one. So now I have it.

Speaker 4:
[35:58] Good. So if anything happens, you have that emergency number.

Speaker 2:
[36:01] I have you in my pocket.

Speaker 4:
[36:03] Exactly.

Speaker 2:
[36:03] That's what I say to people. And you know, there's that old, you know, can't carry a cop because cops too heavy. I told Howard, I don't want to carry him around. I don't want to carry you. I'd rather carry the car because I have you in my pocket, you and your whole staff. And it does happen, ladies and gentlemen, the attorneys have been here. You've heard them talk about it. I think that fascinates me to hear you say that. And guys, if you could have seen her face, it lit up. You went, oh my gosh, yes. Every day this happens, you get these calls every day.

Speaker 4:
[36:31] Oh, all the time. And I'll say I've taken calls from these shows before, emergency calls, because, as we always say, we don't get to choose the time and the place of a self-defense incident. So I get those calls at 3 a.m. Maybe that's not my favorite time to get the call, but I'm happy to wake up at 3 a.m. if it's to help someone that was in a self-defense situation.

Speaker 2:
[36:51] Have you helped an Armed American Radio listener? Have you had to help an AAR listener yet? See, I'd like to say, I hope that never happens. I hope that never happens, but it does, ladies and gentlemen, it does. And I am very, well, I had a lot of, I was telling the guys yesterday, when the group from AAR was here, I had a lot of people come up to me yesterday, thanking me for enlightening to them, to AAR. Because it was something that they had either thought about or they hadn't heard about, and now they're members. And it's true, they sleep easier at night. I do, because I know, if I know I can call you if I have to, even if it's 3 o'clock in the morning, no matter the circumstance, and you're gonna be there.

Speaker 4:
[37:34] That's right, and I always say selfishly as an attorney, it's made my job easier. It is so much easier for someone to call me the minute something happens. Rather than someone coming to me two weeks later after an incident, I say, I can't go back in time and stop someone from making that statement that they made to the officers that they call me two weeks after something happened. But if they call me right during that incident, I can walk them through every step of the way, set their case up, make my job easier.

Speaker 2:
[37:59] And I bet you're gonna be a little bit more expensive if they're not members and they need your services.

Speaker 4:
[38:06] A little bit more expensive is probably understating it. It's gonna be a lot more expensive.

Speaker 2:
[38:10] A lot more expensive, ladies and gentlemen. Look, as I tell you before, guys, get this done. If you haven't done this, I forget who I was talking to yesterday. It's just short of yelling at people to get this point across, which is not gonna be really effective. I think I've done it before. I've gotten a little froggy before because it's such a no brainer for 37 bucks a month. And I said before, you do the math, ladies and gentlemen, and multiply the 37 by 12. It's a whole lot less than one of your hourly fees, period.

Speaker 4:
[38:43] Yes.

Speaker 2:
[38:44] Rachel, where can people find you real quick?

Speaker 4:
[38:46] You can find us at attorneysonretainer.us and you can check out our law firm at attorneysforfreedom.com.

Speaker 2:
[38:52] And that'll do it. Thank you for being here. I love you guys. It's awesome and it's great to see you.

Speaker 4:
[38:55] Thanks again, Mark.

Speaker 2:
[38:56] You hold the record. You're the only guest that's been here. I think you hold the record. Good for you.

Speaker 4:
[39:00] I love it.

Speaker 2:
[39:01] All right, Rachel. Thanks.

Speaker 1:
[39:21] You just filled your prescription for freedom with Mark Walters, presented by the National Rifle Association, the National Rifle Association, on the Armed American Radio Network.