Self defense …
The primary uses of firearms are recreation and self-defense. Relatively few people have any issues with firearms used for the recreational purposes of target shooting and hunting.
More people seem to have issues with firearms used for self-defense.
Every living thing on this planet is born with a natural right to defend itself. Every bug, every cat or dog, and every human being. Some people doubt this, at first. To those I ask, “Do you own your body? Or do the police?” (…pause for reflection…) “If you own your body, are you not responsible for its well-being and protection?”
Ultimately your self-defense is up to you, not your local police. You are going to be the first person on the scene of a crime directed at you or someone close by; not the police. In a case of violent crime committed against you, the police are for cordoning off the crime scene with yellow plastic tape, after the fact.
A common scenario: It’s late evening, you and your spouse just had dinner at a restaurant and you’re walking back to your car. You become aware of three men walking directly at you from three directions. Their intent is obvious. Your choices:
1- Take a pistol out of your pocket or purse and holler “I HAVE A GUN! BACK OFF!!!”
2- Take a cell phone out of your pocket or purse and holler “I HAVE A CELL PHONE. PLEASE WAIT WHILE I CALL 911. OH, AND WILL YOU PLEASE WAIT 10 MINUTES UNTIL THE POLICE GET HERE?”
Another common scenario: A woman is jogging in a park. A man jumps from the bushes ahead of her. She has a pretty good idea what he wants to do. Her choices:
1- Take a pistol from her fanny pack and holler “I HAVE A GUN! BACK OFF!!!”
2- Take a cell phone from her fanny pack and holler “I HAVE A CELL PHONE. PLEASE DON’T RAPE ME UNTIL I’VE CALLED 911. OH, AND WOULD YOU PLEASE WAIT ANOTHER HALF HOUR UNTIL THE POLICE GET HERE?”
We could walk through numerous other scenarios of car-jackings, muggings, strung-out druggies, home invasions and the like. I hope you got my point.
Before initiating an attack, those hypothetical criminals don’t know if you’re armed or not – unless you live someplace where you’re not allowed to protect yourself. They’re less likely to attack if you *might* be able to defend yourself.
Even if you choose not to provide for your own protection, the fact that you live someplace where some people are armed and you *might* be armed works in your favor. Even if you don’t want to protect yourself, the fact that your neighbor is willing to protect himself deters crime.
Some people argue that elimination of personal ownership of firearms will reduce crime. The available data does not support this claim; infact, the data refutes it. In every major metropolitan area where personal firearm ownership has been restricted the rate of violent crime has increased. (Sources on request) The frequently heard saying that ‘when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns’ turns out to be true. Just the possibility of credible defense gives criminals pause.
I support the natural, birth-right of people to defend themselves, including the use of firearms when necessary. I support the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution which guarantees that government cannot take that right away.
—W—
Comments are closed.