A few days ago Eric and I had an intruder enter our home. What could have ended badly if not deadly, fortunately had a happy outcome due to Erics quick thinking and the fact that he was able to properly protect with a firearm.  Here is a statement as to why he acted as he did:

There has been a lot of press about what happened in our home on Thursday, March 28. Many comments, mostly positive and a few negative, have spiraled throughout the nation. I know the 2nd Amendment is currently a very emotional topic. Due to our Constitutional rights carried out appropriately, my family is safe. Here is the rest of the story that needs to be heard:Rachel, my soon to be wife¦ was physically abused for years by her ex (the father of her son mentioned in the article). When I met her, she displayed all the classic symptoms of physical abuse. To this day I do not understand why I was the first person to do something about it after 10 years of devastation- to end the cycle.Last April, he injured her so horribly that by the time I got her to the hospital, they informed me that had she not been taken to the ER, that she would have died within 2-5 hours. She did not tell me for months after what really happened, because she was still protecting him- this is a classic sign of abuse. She blamed it on her bicycle.This incident, like many others that happened to her at his hands, went unreported because he threatened her to kill her or take away her son if she spoke. Because of this, nothing was ever reported to the police. She was too afraid to speak. Thus our legal system chooses to believe that neither her son nor she are at risk from his abusive behavior. Even attempting to secure a protective order in SLC was refused due to lack of police reports. All because he is an upstanding citizen of the community, and because they believe that there is no risk due to his words saying she is lying. Never mind years of unexplained ER visits¦. This last fall I helped Rachel, and we thought her son, finally get out of immediate danger. He retaliated and sued her for custody to maintain control over her. The court mandated that its in the best interest of the child that he be forced to remain in that environment. They took her son away from her allowing her only 2x a month visitation. Rachel could not remain in SLC in fear of her life. To this day, she is doing all she can to be brave and have faith her ex will not hurt her son as she strives to find hope that her son will be returned to her unharmed. This is all while her ex does all he can to disparage her character and pretend like he is good.Recently her ex has become more and more aggressive towards Rachel again. She is in fear of her life and her sons.Ironically the intruders profile looks exactly like Scott White, Rachels ex. I clearly communicated this to Rachel as I responded to the invasion of our home. It turned out not to be her ex, but a local with features very much like her exs.Upon realizing there was a invader to our home, I worried as to where was Rachels son? What I did not know with my current situational awareness was if the intruder had him as hostage? Was her son in my line of fire? I could not shoot not knowing. My most important thought was to protect both Canyon and Rachel, even if that was putting me in danger.I made the best decision possible with my information at the moment “ pursue him, and detain him. Which I did. Do I use deadly force? That was up to the intruder. By putting those dear to me at risk, there is no decision process for that. I would only shoot if the intruder forced me. Fortunately all ended with no one harmed. I hope to never have to do it again, but in a heartbeat, I will practice my 2nd amendment and do all I can to protect those I love in my home.

I am incredibly grateful for Eric and our constitutional rights, especially the 2nd amendment in this instance. Because we had a gun in our home for protection, we are safe. A robber entered our home yesterday early in the morning and Eric saved our lives using a gun to stop the intruder. It comes into play with my freedom article I wrote over a year ago! Here are links to the stories. God bless America!

Eric Martin at his home in St. George on Friday, with the gun he used to hold an intruder until police arrived.

St. George man holds intruder at gunpoint

https://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=24585827&nid=148&title=homeowner-holds-burglar-at-gunpoint-until-police-arrive

http://www.thespectrum.com/viewart/20130329/NEWS01/130329006/St-George-man-holds-intruder-gunpoint

http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2013/03/29/kessle-burglar-held-at-gunpoint-by-prepared-homeowner/

KSL News Audio with St. George Officer

Eric Martin and Rachel Cieslewicz talk about the incident in their St. George home that resulted in Martin holding an intruder at gunpoint until police arrived. Photo Credit St. George Spectrum

Post from the Blaze.comTrail Runner Magazine article about me overcoming trauma, including abuse.