VIDEO: Andrew Branca, Law of Self Defense, Interview on N24 German TV News
Andrew provides analysis of the Zimmerman, Dunn, Alexander trials, as well as of stand-your-ground.
Back on February 28 I was invited down to the Washington DC bureau of N24, a prominent German television news station. The purpose of the invitation was to interview me about the (then) just completed Michael Dunn trial, the earlier George Zimmerman trial, and the ongoing Marissa Alexander extravaganza, as well as American self-defense law in general and stand-your-ground in particular.
It was a very interesting experience. I was interviewed by Stephan Strothe, the head of the Washington bureau, and he was thoroughly professional and kind throughout my visit. Stephan is, of course, German, although he has been in the United States for many years. His experiences around American firearm and self-defense law, however, are essentially limited to his time spent in Washington DC and Maryland, two of the most brutally suppressive regions of the country for Second Amendment rights.
The combination of all this seems to lead to Stephan presenting his questions from a perspective that struck me as representative of where America stood way back in the 1980s–before the nation-wide adoption of concealed carry laws, before the passage of the 1994 gun control legislation that Bill Clinton attributes with gutting the Democrat party for years to come, before the widespread adoption of stand-your-ground and other liberalizing self-defense law doctrines.
I found it all very interesting, really.
In any case, it took a little while for me to obtain my promised copy of the interview video (the initial copy sent me had some defects), but I received it just recently and have posted it in five segments on my own blog, www.lawofselfdefense.com.
Professor Jacobson has kindly invited me to post the interview video in its entirety here on Legal Insurrection. Thus, you can find it below. Enjoy!
–-Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Andrew F. Branca is an MA lawyer and the author of the seminal book “The Law of Self Defense, 2nd Edition,” available at the Law of Self Defense blog, Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle), Barnes & Noble (paperback and Nook), and elsewhere.
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Comments
Great interview. In the first few minutes Andrew gives and excellent summary of the the law of defense. And its so refreshing to see an interview where the INTERVIEWER is just asking questions and not trying to play “gotcha.”
Agree, this is an excellent interview for Mr. Branca and the interviewer who I agree, appears to be really interested in asking questions and listen to the answer without interrupting…just like Bill O’Reilly…(that was a joke… I just had to say it)
I shared the interview among a few friends in Facebook…
American “Journalist” could really use some lessons from this reporter.
Great Interview Andrew!
I agree. Well done. And, I like the review of the requirements for self-defense. Can’t do that too often.
Great interview so far Andrew (not quite through watching yet). I like how you keep things grounded in reality (how things really work out) when the interviewer brings up all these hypotheticals.
Andrew excellent interview. You did a wonderful job portraying the gun rights community as caring and logical.
The interviewer was thankfully asking questions that he legitimately wanted answered. It seems to me that the Europeans have a hard time understanding that even the clearly criminal in this country have a right to a trial that allows them to bring a vigorous defense, not some kangaroo court where the outcome is known before the trial starts (like the climate change debate). I think that Europeans see the cases and think, well clearly he/she is guilty so why bother with a trial. Having watched so many news reports on the trials that you have talked to, I am astounded at the mis-information that is brought out during the news cycle and I am very thankful for our judicial system that allows a vigorous defense for the accused no matter how ludicrous that defense may seem.
Keep up the good work on your elucidation of many.
Terrific interview. Clear and concise. Good job.
Thanks for all the kind words, folks.
–Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Excellent, cogent, dispassionate articulation of self defense in the face of persistent progressive ignorance.
Good interview. Loved the recitation of the 5 requirements for self-defense, esp. for a foreign audience. People in many other countries are aghast at American self-defense law, but let them be agahst. When you try to suck up to a foreign popular opinion, the result is pretty much Obama’s foreign policies and his apology tour… like that did a friggin’ thing except encourage our enemies.
BTW, what happaned to interviews in the US? I mean clearly Strothe didn’t agree with Branca, but he let him talk and answer the questions, did not insult him, didn’t try to make Branca look like a foolm, and as result Strothe didn’t come off as jerk. Is it possible that the US media can go back to being reasonable again?
That interview should be required viewing for anyone aspiring serious journalist.
Branca— I finally broke down and ordered your book from AMZN.
I’d have bought and consumed it a long time ago, except there is no audio version and I have zero time to sit and read.
Consider this a huge compliment as this will probably be the only print book I read this year.
I can tell you from experience you will not be disappointed.
Just watched the interview and I’m really glad I did. There can never be enough education about this subject for gun owners and others.
Thanks, Andrew!