May
28
Armed Citizens Save Lives
“I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” — George Mason, co-author of the Second Amendment, during Virginia’s Convention to Ratify the Constitution, 1788
After nearly 250 years as a nation, Americans are still debating the actual intent (and perhaps ethicality) of our nation’s 2nd Amendment. Rabid gun-control advocates like Kris Brown, president of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, claim that the amendment only grants authority to state governments to maintain militias. And, of course, the whole right of individuals to be armed just puts more people in danger, especially children.
A few weeks ago, Amy Swearer (Senior Legal Fellow, Heritage’s Meese Center) and Lauren Grace Niesent wrote a piece to counter that narrative, which included listing eleven representative examples of defensive gun use by armed U.S. citizens — and those were just from the month of March 2023. I have selected three of the eleven to reproduce here, but you should read the whole article…
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March 6, Portland, Oregon: A business owner confronted a burglar he found rummaging through his store’s upstairs office 30 minutes before employees were scheduled to arrive, police said. The burglar refused to leave and threatened the owner with a pair of bolt cutters. Fortunately, the owner was able to retrieve a gun; he shot the burglar in self-defense as the burglar started toward him, ignoring multiple warnings to stop. The wounded burglar fled, but responding officers arrested him shortly afterward.
March 19, Scranton, Pennsylvania: A woman’s ex-boyfriend came to her home and tried to talk her into reconciling with him. When that failed, he drew a gun and shot both the woman and her mother, wounding both, police said. The mother’s fiancé, who had been upstairs, retrieved his own firearm and exchanged gunfire with the ex-boyfriend, fatally wounding him while one of the wounded women ran to a neighbor’s house to call 911. The woman and her mother were treated at a hospital.
March 23, Bakersfield, California: A man and his wife returned home after taking their grandson to a doctor’s appointment, only to discover that someone had broken in. Police said the man retrieved a gun before heading upstairs to confront the intruder, who pointed a rifle at him. Fortunately, the man was able to shoot first at the intruder, who dropped the rifle and fell. He held the intruder at gunpoint until police arrived.
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For what it’s worth, notice that none of those three states are “red”.
The article points out,
“Despite modern efforts to rewrite history to suit the needs of gun control advocates, the reality is that for more than 150 years, no serious legal scholar ever questioned that the Second Amendment protects an individual right that is premised not on hunting or sport shooting but on giving practical effect to every human being’s natural and unalienable right to self-defense.
The Founders wouldn’t bat an eye at a citizenry well-armed with modern weapons to defend itself against either tyrant or criminal.”
I concur.
