This week, Raul Mendez shares his harrowing experience of surviving a mass shooting in July 2022. Mendez, who took swift action despite being severely wounded, recounts the events of that night where he saved his family and others by neutralizing the shooter. The discussion emphasizes the importance of firearm preparedness and carrying a weapon responsibly. Mendez talks about the psychological aftermath of the incident, the vital role of training, and the impact of his story on promoting self-defense awareness.
Episode Highlights:
29:00 Facing Fears and Preparing for the Future
29:34 Emotional Challenges and Tough Love
32:58 Media Attention and Social Media Challenges
36:01 Advocating for Gun Rights
42:18 The Importance of Self-Defense
Raul Mendez is a mass shooting survivor, a husband, and a proud advocate for the Second Amendment. Born and raised in California, Raul moved to Arizona in 2009 in pursuit of a better life. A lifelong supporter of the right to bear arms, he is a trained and responsibly armed citizen who used his firearm in self-defense to save lives during a violent attack. Today, Raul shares his story to raise awareness and remind others of the importance of protecting our constitutional freedoms. He stands as living proof that responsible gun ownership can make all the difference.
You can connect with him on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ga110_ent
Episode Transcript:
00:32
Acta Non Verba is a Latin phrase that means actions, not words. If you want to know what somebody truly believes, don’t listen to their words instead, observe their actions. I’m Marcus Aurelius Anderson and my guest today truly embodies that phrase. Raul Mendez.
01:01
on a fateful night on July, 2022, his family and he fell victim to a mass shooting. And despite sustaining a gunshot wound to the head, he summoned strength and resolved, retrieved his concealed carry weapon and eliminated the threat, saving his life, his family’s and everyone that was there. This man now is a testament to what carrying a weapon is, why it’s so important for us to do it every day.
01:26
Lots of times a weapon is not a sword. It’s a shield. We’re protecting those around us. And that’s why it’s so important to be diligent about that. His website is one I defense. That’s the number one, the letter I defense.com and you can follow him on social media and we’re going to have links to all that stuff in there. Show notes. friend, you were amazing. Thank you for being here today and for taking the time out. I love your rock out with your Glock out t-shirt that we can get at your website. a matter of fact, I love that. Thank you. How are you doing?
01:55
Doing good. You’re doing great. And you were recently at a Tarrin tactical not too long ago, right? Yeah, I did go out there, did some shooting, had a great time with Tarrin. Great guy. mean, awesome time. Yeah, that guy can shoot, shoot the wings off a fly, man. It’s crazy. He’s so good. Oh yeah. I interviewed Tetiana not too long ago. Oh, okay. So when I saw that you were out there and I saw that you were, you had your weapon out there, it’s like, that’s amazing. So
02:25
I don’t think people understand how important it is for us to be vigilant as you were talking about. And before we hit records, you made a comment about how, because I know people like that too. Sometimes they’ll carry a weapon when it’s convenient or when it’s comfortable, but they don’t understand that once you start carrying it every single day, it does feel comfortable. And it’s almost like when you don’t have it, you almost feel like you lost your watch or your phone. where’s it at? It’s almost like it kind of hugs us and keeps us nice and.
02:53
Secure is the way I look at it because I’ve been caring for years as well. Tell us why it’s so important. Oh man, I mean before I would always carry ever since I you know, I had my first daughter, you know, I became a father I just felt like it was my you know, I see this little this little beautiful creature this little beautiful girl and I was like wow Like I’m responsible for that, you know anything happens to that, you know, I’m the one responsible for that so
03:22
After that, I just decided like, hey, I’m gonna face, you know, evil or whoever wants to do harm to us with equal for person. What is that? Firearms. since that day, I just started carrying. Got my first pistol when I was 21, started carrying everywhere, everywhere. And that was just my main goal. was like, I love what you mentioned. You know, I was the family shield and that was my tool.
03:50
to shield his family, you know? So I’m not gonna lie, I’ve fallen to the, I’m going somewhere, grocery store, or hey, I’m going to my sister’s house and I forget my firearm. And you know, it’s kinda like, oh, well, I’m only going here. I’m only gonna be there 10 minutes. I’m only picking something up. Or I’m gonna go just barbecue at my sister’s house. You know, it’s our family. Well, I’ll be fine. And I’ve done that a lot. And…
04:20
On July 3rd of 2022, mean, my belief in caring was actually tested and it paid off. Cause that day, you know, I could have easily forgot my firearm and been like, you know what? I’m only going to a friend’s house with friends, you know, with a bunch of friends and family. I’ll be all right. But you know, just muscle memory. I grabbed it, appendix carry.
04:45
It was a Glock 36, chambered in 45, know, subcompact. Yes. Most importantly, one in the chamber. You know, this is my safety. Yep. Primary safety. Had it, had it there all day, all night. Well, again, that paid off that, you know, that night because, you know, something horrific happened. You know, this neighbor, this guy that I personally never met, he just…
05:14
comes into the house. We had met him outside, small talk, while we were lighting some fireworks, but he makes his way into the house and the host, you know, like a friendly neighbor, just, you know, tells him, oh, I met you. You want something to eat? Sit some down, here’s some food. And my wife had mentioned that something was off about this guy. And that’s where instinct, that gut fling comes in and I…
05:40
Now, you know, we’ve had that talk about a gut feeling. You get a gut feeling, do not ignore that, you know. This speaks more than, you know, that, because your brain will just automatically start trying to make excuses like, no, I’m okay, no, this, no, that. But trust that gut feeling. Well, that gut feeling she had turned into this guy in the middle of eating, stands up, pushes his plate forward, pulls out his firearm and just starts shooting at the whole party.
06:12
I mean, at that point, you know, people are yelling, people are running. Well, as soon as he stands up, his first victim was one of my buddies. was literally standing right in front of him on the other side of the kitchen island. So they’re opposite of each other. Well, he puts two rounds in him, shoots him right here, you know, right on the throat. He hits the ground. I’m about 10, 15 feet away.
06:40
My back is facing them, so I’m faced away. And as soon as I hear just those gunshots and that mayhem, I turn around and he catches me right here. Literally, I have a dimple right here, that bullet went in. Well, it went in, went into the face, fractured everything and came out my left eye.
07:07
I mean, at that point, you know, that was a straight ambush. know, no warning, no nothing. Didn’t know what was going on while I hit the ground. You know, I hit the ground on my knees and my wife runs to me. Didn’t know I was hit. She did see me hit the ground on my knees, but not knowing if I’m taking cover, if I was hit or what’s going on. So she tries to pick me up.
07:36
You know, get up, let’s go, you know, get up. And she grabs my face and, you know, just turns it towards her. And that’s when she just sees, you know, just blood everywhere, you know, this fountain, you know, just dripping down my face. And at that point, you know, she’s just like, my husband’s dead, you know, he just got struck. He just got hit right in the face, right in the head. You know, he’s dead. You know, your odds of surviving a head shot.
08:06
you know, less than 1 % or what they say, you People don’t truly survive a headshot. So she does the next best thing. She gets this tunnel vision, runs straight for the bedroom where my two daughters and other children were in plane. Well, she closes the door, barricades it with the dresser, and she’s seven months pregnant at the time.
08:34
Seven months pregnant, so you know, she’s showing and everything and barricades the door, puts the kids in the closet, tries to throw clothes and all kinds of stuff, you know, over them and just tells them, be quiet, don’t make a noise. I don’t care what you hear. Just stay in here and hide. You don’t let anybody hear you. Well, she’s just waiting there, just waiting for when he’s gonna come in.
09:04
and find her and kill her and just hoping, know, just praying to God that he doesn’t find those children in the closet. You know, at that point, he just ran towards the front door. You have a bunch of people trying to run out the front door and he just started shooting at everybody running out the front door, you know, catches people in the back shoulder. And he catches another one of my friends in the leg.
09:32
So he hits the ground. He starts trying to crawl out. Well, he literally just walks up to him, walks in front of him where he’s crawling. My friends is looking up at him and telling him, like, why are you doing this? I got a family, no care in the world. He just points his pistol at the top of his head and pulls the trigger. Jeez, point blank. Yeah, so.
10:00
That was, you know, friend number two that unfortunately, you know, was murdered that night. You know, so his killing spree, his desire to take everybody out doesn’t end there. You know, my buddy lived in, you know, those communities, HOA, they’re all like cookie cutter homes and all. I’m sure he probably has the same layout. So he knows where everything’s at. So he just makes his way to the master bedroom.
10:30
You have three girls and two children hiding there. And he starts trying to kick down the door. And one of my other friends, she’s on the other side of the door. He’s trying to open it. So he just starts trying to shoot through the door, shoot the deadbolt or the lock. She gets shot maybe six times. Luckily they were all in the arm and the leg.
10:59
Nothing major. Well, he makes his way through the door. And I mean, this brave woman literally, you know, that mama bear comes out of her and she’s like, I’m not done here, you know, she literally jumps on top of him, grabs her, you know, reaches for his arm and will not let go of that man’s arm where he’s holding that pistol. And so, you know, he starts firing, but every shot missed after, you know, she literally jumped on him.
11:30
One thing she had mentioned when I was out of the hospital is she was yelling my name because she knew I was one of the only people of friends that would always carry a concealed firearm. So she was yelling my name, Raul, Raul. While one of the other women that was hiding in the closet, she starts looking around and she finds a rifle.
11:59
but she couldn’t load it. She didn’t know how to use it. She didn’t know what to do with it. So she comes out with the rifle and this man is literally jumped behind her, wrapped his legs around her waist or that and just tries to finish her off by choking her out. In the middle of choking her out, this brave other girl comes out and starts trying to fight him too. Well, they’re both yelling my name.
12:30
And, you know, little do they know that I’m bleeding out in the dining area. You know, I just had a gunshot wound to the head and, you know, little do they know that, you know, I’m dead or I shouldn’t be dead. You know, I’m down. But honestly, like at that point, I don’t think God was ready to let me go out like that. I don’t think he was ready to, you know, like that wasn’t my time.
13:01
He knew I had a baby coming in the way, two little girls, you know, and something picked me up. It wasn’t me. I didn’t have the strength or nothing, but something picked me up and reached for my firearm, knowing 100 % that there’s one in the chamber, no physical safety, just the trigger finger. And I’m about five, eight feet from the back door.
13:34
So I had a decision to make or the autopilot, me or whatever, had a decision. I could have easily ran out that back door, but I didn’t know where my family was and I don’t know who was yelling. I knew I was with friends and family, so I knew I had to go do something about it. So I quickly made my way towards that master bedroom, half blind or I’m thinking 80 % blind.
14:02
This eye is completely gone.
14:06
And my face is covered in blood. you know, when you have all this stuff all over your face, like it still blurs out your vision. So, you know, I couldn’t see anything, but something told me like right there. Pull, pull the trigger, pull the four times and, you know, all four hit center mass with two hitting his heart. The two that hit his heart definitely did it. And he just died instantly right there. And that threat.
14:34
You know, I just eliminated that threat right then and there. And pretty much that’s how the story ended. unfortunately, friends died, but I’m very thankful for the outcome. Very thankful. You know, I thank God that I’m here and I’m still get to be a part of, my daughter is my wife and I got to meet my beautiful little newborn, which she’s about to turn three this year. And it’s been such a blessing.
15:03
Congratulations. Thank you. I’m blown away by this. I was in the light infantry and I never saw combat with weapons, but like you said, that instinct, that training takes over, but people don’t realize how embedded it is in you sometimes. And like you said, when you were picked up,
15:28
You’re like, maybe I am gonna die. Maybe I will bleed out. But this man is not gonna take anybody else’s life today. And a lot of people probably would have run the other direction. They would have run away from the gunfire. They would have had self-preservation in their minds. Unfortunately, yes. A lot of people ran that night leaving family, leaving spouses, leaving kids behind. it kind of shows you.
15:54
I’m not saying that that makes them 100 % or they’re a person or not or maybe they are. It just really shows where their heart is, you know? a lot of people ran, left their kids behind, left their spouse, like the host. He ran out the front door. He left his two boys and his wife in the master bedroom. He was coming out of that master bedroom. He had just finished using the restroom. He walks out.
16:23
He sees me get shot, which he mentioned to me after I got out the hospital. He had a rifle. He has firearms more in that closet, in that bedroom. He could have easily just whoops, turned around. Wife, kids, get your butts in the closet. Get ready, let’s go. But no, he ran out. And you know, I lost a lot of friends that day, that night, and not just to death.
16:52
You know, honestly, like when you’re actually put in a life or death situation, it really shows what you’re about, the training and who you are deep down inside. know, so I feel I’m not saying, you know, it’s all bragging rights or anything, because I never want to brag about something like this. But in my family’s eyes, like I earn my stripes. They know where my heart is and they know what I’m willing to do.
17:22
fight to the end to make sure they make it. Yeah, I’ve always said that the way that you conduct yourself in the face of adversity is an indication of how you will conduct yourself at every other part of your life. Right. And like you said, especially with social media today, everybody’s talking about bravado and I do this and hashtag team no sleep and grind 24 seven. But those people are not actually doing anything, right? They’re not actually in.
17:47
the line of fire. They’ve never been in the line of fire. And the fact that they don’t carry a firearm tells me that they are not prepared to step into the line of fire if it ever happened. Right. And so again, just being prepared. And there’s something about it. Like carrying a firearm is like life insurance. You pray to God you never need it. But man, if you need it, it’s nice to know that it’s there and it’s nice to that you have the training. Oh yeah. But that’s why we do it. And I love that you carry a 45 because I know a lot of people are very
18:16
9mm happy, which is fine. But I think that yours is a great testament to that. You didn’t have trouble controlling the recoil. You didn’t have trouble putting four shots in her mass. Because in those kind of proximities, it’s about getting in there, being aggressive, and making sure that the bad guy is done. And he doesn’t hurt anybody else. Exactly. And you’re a test. Definitely. I mean, I know the media tries to portray that.
18:43
You know, a good guy with a gun is a fantasy or a good guy with a gun, never gonna happen. You know, like I tell people, I have minimal training. I’m not law enforcement. I’ve never been law enforcement. I’ve never been military. I’ve never done anything like that. I’m just a regular average Joe, if you want to call it, just a father, you know, husband that just, you know, does regular things.
19:12
works a regular job, does regular things afterward, just spend time with the family. You know, and the only thing that I did or my preparedness was get introduced to firearms at a young age, which I have, you know, I think my father and my older brother, which he’s 10 years older than me. And it becomes a lifestyle, you know, just like a hobby or something you can kind of say.
19:42
When you build a hobby, you learn about it, you get comfortable around whatever it is, and you kind of become an expert on it. You don’t have to be like a super expert, you become an expert maybe at a level that most people are not, or most people that, like the girl, she didn’t know how to load a gun. She didn’t know how to do any of that, and she would have known how to load a gun and maybe had a little bit of training.
20:12
Should have been like, oh, this is this, let me put this here, let me get it. And you know, she would have been the one telling this story, you know, instead of me, you know, so. Or a thing with my wife, if she would have had better training, she would have known, hey, my husband’s caring, before this guy, I see him walking away, trying to shoot towards the front door, let me reach down to his waist, pull it out, and let me just go, you know, shoot a few rounds on him and try to bring him down.
20:42
She would have been telling the story now. You know what I mean? Yes. But again, I’m not what you would expect and I feel that’s why I have that or I feel like that’s the responsibility I have to tell my story to tell people like look You know you would expect all this guy stopped the mass shooting and this but he’s you know tired Navy SEAL or you know
21:06
or something crazy, know, law enforcement or, you know, ex-cop or retired cop or something. But no, I’m not none of that. I’m just like everybody else. And if I can do it by just being, you know, prepared, you know, mentally, physically being able to do it and just having the right tool, then I mean, my story, if something similar or something horrific was to happen to somebody else.
21:36
they can be the one to stop it and protect. Cause actually a good guy with a gun truly does save lives. And I’m that testimony, you know, I’m that living proof. And that’s why I really want to get my story out there as that living proof. Yeah. I love it. And I love that you’re telling your background. You’re like, I’m not dry fire practice in, two hours a day. I’m not going out and doing all this incredible training with like all these people. It’s like,
22:05
But again, it is sort of a fundamental truth that if we can get one or two body mechanics down, if I can get that draw, if I can reinforce it, if I know where my bullets are going and I can put those, those bullets on site right now, if I can squeeze that trigger, that’s enough to stop. Like you said, a bad guy with a gun though, think that stops him. It’s a good guy with a gun. Exactly. a great example of that. So for people that are listening, what advice would you give them when it comes to being prepared?
22:34
when it comes to firearms. I mean, the only advice, get comfortable. Get comfortable with the tool. Don’t fear the tool because the tool is not going to, you know how they say, oh, guns kill people. No, guns don’t kill people. It’s just a tool. You know, it’s actually mental illness. Mentally ill people kill people. You know what I mean? So get comfortable with it. Train with it. Train with it at home. You know, make sure, you know.
23:02
Physically and you know visually inspect no round do some dry firing some you know Some drawing out of the whole bolster, know all that good stuff and that is just gonna build that muscle memory Do it a thousand times do it ten thousand times do it a hundred thousand times and all of a sudden that Thing that what you’re practicing just becomes second nature that you’ll do without even thinking like you can be having a conversation and all of a sudden just be drawing your gun without even thinking you know becomes
23:31
that muscle memory. So I would say just train, train, and train and get comfortable with your tool. That’s the first thing. And second thing, carry religiously. Carry religiously with one in the chamber. Get comfortable with carrying one in the chamber. Because before you get into a car accident, you’re not going to be putting your seatbelt as you’re swerving and about to hit another vehicle. You have it ready to go.
24:01
carry religiously, be willing to turn around. You’re leaving to the grocery store and you’re halfway there and be like, damn it, I forgot my firearm. Turn around. You never know. There’s so much evil out there in this world. I mean, so much evil. And it’s up to us, us law-abiding citizens. I consider myself a sheepdog. They say it takes a wolf to beat a wolf. Well, no.
24:28
I’m not evil like a wolf. I’m a sheep dog. I will show teeth and jump in front of my sheep, in front of my family, in front of a fellow citizen if needed to stop a threat. And so you never know. You never know when you need it. And it’s up to us to face that evil with equal force and that equal force. I feel it’s one of these. I absolutely agree.
24:55
And the people that we, we see the people that are doing this, we see the people that are opening up on people and they do it in an environment where they think somebody’s not going to be armed. So they’re literally almost like that bully that like puffs their chest out. And the minute you step to them, that’s when they back off. So these are people that again, they think they have power because they have a firearm, but they aren’t used to somebody coming back at them. like you said, even an ounce of training is worth a pound of prevention when it comes to this kind of stuff, because they don’t know how to defend. They don’t know how to.
25:24
maneuver, they don’t know how to get off the X. They’re just standing there and shooting and expecting people to run. Somebody stands up and then they go, why is this person standing up? It’s too late. Exactly. And that’s how we have to think of it. So if you’re not going to do it for you, do it for the people around you. Do it for the people that you love. If you claim that you love your family, do this. If you have life insurance, if you have car insurance, do this. A Glock is like less than $600. You don’t have to have fancy optics. You don’t have to have all the crazy stuff on it. It just needs to be.
25:53
something that you’re proficient with. You made that comment about this is a tool, right? In the military, they says, you’re the, I’m the weapon. This is a tool because if I do it the other way around, this is the weapon and I’m just a tool. So that shows us the way that we have to look at this stuff. Right. And again, like any sort of tool, if you know how to use it, you don’t have to fear it. I love that you’re talking about having one in the chamber. Um, because some people there’s a taboo around that, but just like you said,
26:23
If I’m drawing this weapon, have to pull it out and I have to put it into action. I’m not going to have time to rack it. That’s one additional movement. That’s one additional thing that keeps me from getting my hands together to actually pull the trigger and take the threat out. That one or two seconds from racking, could be too late and that could be your life or one of your loved one’s life. Absolutely. So like you said, if it’s inconvenient, go back and get it. If it’s uncomfortable, carry it. If it’s uncomfortable, find a weapon that you will carry.
26:51
Like even a Glock 26 that has, it’s a nine millimeter that has like seven rounds in it. That could be enough. Your situation was four rounds with a 45, but many of these encounters that we’re seeing today, it’s less than four rounds and it’s in a very close proximity. It’s very much a point and shoot type of environment. So again, you’re a great Testament to how, you know, you weren’t doing like John Wick stuff. You weren’t doing cartwheels and jumping over and doing like hip tosses and then shooting them. Like you were actually just pointing and shooting and that’s all it takes sometimes.
27:21
That’s all it is. Obviously in real time. life after this life after that is completely different. I mean, you learn to appreciate every single day, every single minute, every single second that is worth gold. You know, your time, you just learn to appreciate the small things. I mean, just waking up in the morning is worth more than a billion dollars, you know.
27:51
worth more than a billion dollars. And that’s just such a great feeling. You know, just being able to breathe, take another deep breath, just, you know, spending time with the family, just seeing, you know, my little girls, you know, smile, dealing with their problems, you know, it’s like, you know, your problems, they, you know, okay, we’ll deal with it and all that. it sucks that, you know, my daughters were there and they had to deal with that. And it was just such a…
28:21
tough life lesson where the emotion, the crying, and me coming out of the hospital and even weeks later, the crying and just, you it sucks as a father where it’s like, come here, cry, let it out, give me a hug, I will hold you, I’m here to protect you. But then at the same time, you it’s like you grab on me, like look, toughen up, this is life.
28:50
This is what happened. Don’t let it bring you down. You know, live life to the fullest, know, live, continue to live life and don’t live life, you know, fearful. You know, don’t fear life. Don’t fear doing this or that. But don’t get caught off guard. You know, listen to your gut feeling. Be prepared. I will not always be here to protect you. Let’s go shooting. Let’s go find your firearm. Daddy, I’m only 11. I’m only 12. I don’t care. You’re to start today.
29:21
Which one do you like? Oh, I like this one. Okay, feel it. We’re at the gunshot, feel it. How does it feel in your hands? Here, let’s feel this one. Feel it, I like this one. Okay, I want this one. Boom, this one’s yours. Let’s go out shooting. You know, they get emotional, or my younger one, you know, we went out shooting and she kind of started crying and it’s just like, okay, we stop. You know, just the gunshots and all that just brought flashbacks. Like, okay, let’s get the emotion out. Let’s get all this, let’s just talk about it. Are you done? Let’s go back and shoot.
29:51
You know, this is this is what it’s going to take to toughen you up. But again, don’t live life in fear. Just be prepared. And, you know, that that was probably the toughest thing, you know, dealing, you know, after just the emotion of my kids. And then, you know, it just sucks as a father having to tell him like. Pretty much in the nicest way, like, shut the hell up, deal with it. This is life.
30:20
Let’s prepare for it in case it ever happens again. And you know, no kid, no child should ever have to go through what they went through and see the things they saw. But like you said, you’re not doing it to be mean. You’re like, I love you. And this is why I’m telling you this. If you love somebody, you tell them the truth. If you want them to like you, you say sugarcoated stuff to make them feel better. you sugarcoat it. Exactly. Yeah. And in this situation, like you said, mean, obviously there’s no way to sugarcoat that.
30:49
Yeah, exactly. And besides that, I mean, some time after, just kind of had this feeling. had a conversation with one of my cousins, which is like a brother to me, like an older brother, older cousin. And he’s like, what are you going to do about it with your story? I’m like, I don’t know. Nobody wants to hear it. I’m like, all the news outlets just straight up ignored it. You know, they don’t give a shit about my story. well, that’s more reason to tell it. They don’t want to hear it for a reason.
31:20
Because mainstream media hides stories like this. And what you gonna do about it? Who are you gonna tell? And how are you gonna tell it? So I just kinda meditated and thought about it, prayed about it, it’s like, shit, I reached back out to my cousin and he was like, I wanna tell my story. He’s like, good. NRA headquarters is probably about 10 minutes away from my house. I’m gonna go tell them.
31:48
If they know you if they heard your story and so he went and told him my story and they’re like, holy shit I never heard about this. Yeah, of course not. He’s like we got to meet him so we did a zoom meeting literally like three days later on a Friday and after the zoom meeting like the guys are like holy shit, are you available in a week from today and I’m like, yeah, bro. I’m recovering like I ain’t doing shit. I’m just at home all day like
32:18
Cool, we’re flying out from Virginia. Give us your address. This will set it up. Blew out at two gentleman come. And we recorded a video. We went over, was like, what do you want to say? Did a script together, recorded a video. They took me out and the family out to the range. Did some photo shooting there and all that. And that was my first video I made. And that video.
32:48
within a matter of a week, week and a half, it hit two million views. And at that point, that’s when everybody started reaching out to the NRA, like, hey, this guy Raul, he did a video with him, can we get his number? Hey, this guy, can we get his number? Fox, one of Tucker Carlson’s producers, like, hey, can we get his number? And they’re like, reached out and like, hey, we got your number.
33:15
from you know, course the NRA always asked me like hey Tucker’s producer wants your number like give it to them. Like hey this person wants to like give it to them. So we set up interviews and stuff like that. But of course, you know, it hits some traction and then it just seems like even social media like they start shadow banning. They start shutting it down and you know, it’s like we get silenced no matter what the mainstream media, know TV wise and you know, you know or like the
33:45
the news outlets ignore. And then if you actually get a good decent video that’s gaining traction, well, now you got meta like Instagram and Facebook that shuts you down and prevents you from getting any more views or followers. So, you know, it gains some traction. But then again, you know, social media just shut it down, so it just kind of died down. So I just feel at this point, I’m not giving up.
34:12
I will continue to tell my story. know you reached out and whoever’s reaching out and willing to have me and, you know, digitally create a video of me telling my story and then throw it out there. You know, I’m more than willing. And like I had mentioned before, you know, how can they reach you? I’m like, at this point, like I really don’t give a shit if they follow me, if they dance or they reach me. As long as they hear my story and it impacts them to the point where like shit, it can happen to me.
34:41
Now I’m going to start caring more religiously and I’m going to train a little more. And I’m going to show this video to maybe my mom or my dad that’s semi anti-gun. I’m going to show this video and see if I could change their mind. Or I’m going to show this to my spouse that hates when I carry or hates the fact that I have a firearm. Let me show them this video. And I’ve had people reach out like, hey, I show this to my girl and she hated my gun. And now she’s telling me every time, do you have your gun with you? Yes.
35:09
And you know what, if I can save one life or protect, not me physically being there, but because of my story, they went out and became prepared and they saved their lives or stopped the threat and all that. If I can hear if there’s actually one story out there that they were impacted because of me and that saved somebody, then I feel this whole everything I’m doing of speaking up was totally worth it.
35:37
It’s the ripple effect. But the thing is, this is not just a small ripple. Like this is a huge boulder that you’ve thrown in there. And now these rings are coming out. And I know that this happened three years ago, but continue telling your story. We need to get you to write a book. We need to get them to make a movie or something on Netflix about this. Like we need to do all that stuff because this is what we need to hear more of. And let’s go ahead and talk about some of those things. A lot of people that are anti-gun or they’re on the, the fence about it.
36:05
If you look at any, any place that has the most violence, it’s the same places that had the most gun control to a criminal. The criminal doesn’t give a shit about any sort of gun law. They’re not getting that gun lawfully. They’re getting it from the street. They’re getting around the black market from somebody and they’re going to go out and do whatever they want to do with it. And anybody that’s trying to stop law abiding citizens from legally having a weapon to defend themselves is literally taking your ability to defend yourself, your family, your freedom. Yeah.
36:35
Definitely. I mean, politicians and even like different states and they try to use the whole scare tactic. You know, I was actually scrolling through social media and I’m sure this happened recently. What is it? The guy that defended himself and shot the intruder? Yes. He’s now being charged for why the hell did he have gun? You know what I mean? Yeah. Thankfully, you know, I grew up in California and I was born and raised there.
37:05
Went from San Jose where I was born, grew up a little bit there. By the time I was entered into middle school, I moved to Southern California near the LA County. I mean, it’s all anti-gun. I mean, you do get a lot of people that are pro guns and then you have the violence, the gang bangers and all that. They have guns, but these guns are off the street. You know, hear drive-bys and all this guy got shot.
37:33
or he got shot at the park, he this and that, and like, I’m sure he didn’t get his gun legally. I’m sure he doesn’t give a shit if he gets caught or not. He’s still carrying it. But if somebody like me that is fearful for their life or wants to protect their family and I’m carrying out there, I will get in trouble. If I even just flash it to somebody coming at me with a knife per se and I’m with my kids.
38:04
And I stopped the threat. He turns around and runs away, but the guy standing over there sees me pull out a gun and guess what? Now I’m gonna get charged and I’m gonna go to prison. Why? Because I wanted to ensure that myself and my family don’t get shot or don’t get stabbed or don’t get hurt. So these laws don’t work. On my Instagram, on my reels, I had posted this one reel. Some Mexican politician, some Mexican guy.
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politician, know, dressed in a suit and he starts talking about, gun control and gun laws. He’s like, hmm, what year were guns banned in Mexico? And then it was, you know, whatever was 1970. I don’t know what year he’s like, how’s that going? Did it stop any crime? Did it stop any deaths? No, it only got worse. Who runs who runs Mexico? Oh, the cartels and, you know, the the hitmen and all that. Oh, shit. OK. So gun control doesn’t work, right? Because, you know, Mexico clearly
39:03
doesn’t fucking work. And then he gave an example of some place in Europe, Switzerland or fuck, I don’t know where he’s like, look at this country. They got fucking guns up there, you know, and how many murders do they have on guns? Almost zero to none. He’s like, damn, so it’s not the gun problem. know, the guns are not the problem. And that clearly shows. you know, it’s just, you know, just incredible to just be and, you know, other people’s mentality that the gun is the problem.
39:33
You you ban guns and it’s only going to get safer. No, you ban guns. You’re only stripping away protection from the law abiding citizens because the criminals don’t care to break the law. That’s why they’re called criminals. Yeah, they’re they already have a criminal record. They don’t care. If anything gives a more street crime, they go back in. Yeah, exactly. And all these politicians that are talking about gun control, like you said, they’re doing it to try to get people on their side or trying to get reelected because of this.
40:02
bullshit ideology. But the irony is those very people are guarded by men that are armed to the teeth. that’s what they definitely want. the citizens, but my bodyguards will have, you know, they’ll be heavily armed with firearms. Why? Because my life as a politician is worth more than your life as a citizen. And that’s, you know, and it’s crazy how, you know, a lot of sheep, a lot of people do believe
40:31
You know that taking away the firearms is only going to make the streets safer. But no, that’s not how it works. No, if I mean, if we made, if that’s the case, then we should just make drugs illegal. Oh wait, we did that. How did that work out? Exactly. Exactly. The whole war on drugs is it’s like the worst. It’s not doing anything. It’s only empowering the cartels. Right. It just built like one of the biggest.
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multi-billion dollar empires, because now they can charge a lot more and make so much money on building this empire. If the US literally said, all drugs are illegal, maybe, let’s say, or there’s no more longer war on drugs. People start making it here. They don’t need to ship it from Colombia, Mexico and all this.
41:28
You know, the cartels would literally die overnight. That’s what I feel. Will it happen? Would that actually happen if that were the case? I don’t know. But just my point is that the war on drugs is failing. built this huge empire and this war on guns. It’s not working either. Look at Chicago. It’s like murder capital of the U.S. and they have one of the strictest gun laws in the U.S. Chicago, LA, York, all of them. I mean, just all these places that are just
41:58
so, so strict on guns, yet they’re the murder capital of the US. So that tells you something, right? I think so. Gun control, these gun bans on liability citizens, doesn’t work. No. And it doesn’t mean that you have to have an arsenal at your house, but it does mean that you should at least be able to protect yourself. And just like you’re saying, I love that you’re introducing your kids to it at a young age. My wife carries, my daughter knows how to use every weapon that we have.
42:26
Because like you said, if there’s a situation she should be able to pick up a Glock, a revolver, an AR, an AK, a shotgun, whatever it is, a bolt action, and be able to defend yourself or somebody else. Exactly. Just trying to empower these people. And in my opinion, like your ability to defend yourself is a human right. It’s a natural human right. You can say all these other things are human rights, but that’s the first one. And if you don’t have that one, the rest of them don’t matter anyway. The rest of them don’t matter. Exactly. I feel again, it’s a God given right.
42:56
to defend yourself, defend your property, defend your family. Absolutely. And, fortunately, not everybody sees it like that. Yeah. What is the biggest misconception about firearms? Just that. That guns kill people, I’m going to say. I agree. You know, they say that there’s more murders with, you know, knives and stabs and, you know, sharp objects and firearms. Why aren’t they trying to ban knives? Exactly. Why aren’t they trying to ban, you know, hey, if I…
43:25
Hey, you want to buy a butcher knife to cut your steak? You know, there’s going to be a background check. It’s a two week, two week layup. Two week period. Two week wait period. number on it. you know, if it’s a little shorty, it’s a it’s a short something knife. know, you need a fucking two hundred dollar tax stamp. You know, it’s just it’s not bullshit. It’s not about gun control at the end of the day. It’s just honestly, it’s about control.
43:55
Look at all these other countries. For example, I was speaking to a news outlet. What is it? The new Federation of China. I forgot they were what they’re called. Oh my God. I feel so bad. I did an interview with them and this was at the America Festival. And, you know, she gave me the example like, look, guns were illegal in China. They were legal. You can own guns and have guns.
44:20
And then they decided no more guns. took all the guns away and guess what happened? A damn genocide happened. They started just murdering its own citizens. So, you know, people say that it will never happen in America and the free land of the, you know, all that it can happen anywhere. If you don’t think it can happen here, then you are a fool. Absolutely. And we see, like you said, historically Mao, Cambodia, all these places, the first thing they do disarm the citizens. And I think it’s within two years they start just these over genocides or they.
44:50
are just killing people to keep them in fear. And of sudden, now they’ll still have elections, but all of a sudden one person will win by like 100%. It’s like, 100 % exactly. It’s insanity. So like you can’t even say anything. Like look what they’re doing in Canada. They’re about to have a damn revolution over there. Absolutely. Revolutionary war over there. It’s like they disarmed the citizens. Like every damn gun’s illegal now. You know, people are getting arrested just for speaking up, thrown in jail.
45:18
Yeah, online stuff now, right? And if they get this other guy elected, he’s going to be able to actually find them like 50K if they put up a main that they disagree with. just happens to be. Exactly. So, I mean, you can see it with our neighbors. You know, they say that the US is the fighters of democracy and all that shit. We’ll go fight next door. Yeah. Because they’re democracy, they’re liberty, they’re all that shit is going away. Yeah. Yeah. You know, so, but again, I mean, my main goal is just to…
45:48
tell people at end of the day, sound however it sounds, just stay strapped. Stay strapped and that’s it. Don’t let anybody, not even the government take it away. Don’t be fearful. Stand up for what’s right, stand up for your family and stand up for your freedom. Because if we don’t, our children are going to be the one paying the price. Absolutely. Thank you so much for the conversation. Thank you so much for your demonstration, brother. Thank you for having me on. Where can we send people to support you to
46:17
Go to your store to follow you on social. Where would you send people? So my website I literally got is the, you know, one 1defense.com number one letter. I that’s just, know, my merge and a few, you know, gun accessories and stuff like that. If you scroll all the way to the bottom, it has my social media links, but my other website that just actually has all my links, it’s my Instagram username, which is GA one one zero E N T.com.
46:47
GA-110 just stands for, you people say gallo, but it’s gallo. It’s literally a rooster. I’m the only male in a damn house full of females. So they’re like, people started calling me rooster. So the 110 literally stands for the LLO, so gallo. That’s my nickname. That’s what people call me. A lot of friends and family, but so yeah, just gallo, E and T. I do music, so stud for entertainment.
47:16
I still like my music stuff, but yeah, just j110ent.com and that gives you, that’s like my link tree that gives you the links to all my social media page and all that good stuff. follow my journey there. Yeah, go follow him there. Go share this interview out, share his message out, share all of his information out because the more people that know about this, the more people are going to be at least aware of it. And like you said, if this plants a seed and gives somebody the ability, so you know what? I needed to look into
47:45
buying a pistol, I need to look into what it would take to be able to carry it. And again, when you first carry, you you may not be an opinions carry person, you may be doing all these different kinds of things, but once you start doing it, and it becomes a habit, like I it will get comfortable with time. You’ll forget about it. Like it’s not even there. Absolutely. And when it’s not there, you feel like, like I said, like you’re missing something. you’re missing something. And it’s like anything else, right? If, you and I are on a trip,
48:12
And I say, are you ready to go? You’re like, yeah. And I’m like, do we have a spare? And you’re like, shit, I forgot. When we’re on that trip, what are we going to worry about the whole time? A flat tire. Right. So if you have your firearm with you and you have something else to back yourself up with, you don’t have to worry about that thing. Like I you never need it. But man, it’s nice if you have to. Yeah, exactly. All right, brother. Thank you, my friend. Thank you so much for having me on. It was a pleasure. I enjoyed this conversation and absolutely. And yeah, until next time. Next time, my friend.
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Thank you for listening to this episode of Acta Non Verba.
