Rightwinger B missed the very obvious point that in Death Wish, it was a disarmed citizen who was victimized, and once arming himself, was able to walk the night safely again. Rather than being a good justification for compromising personal liberties in exchange for safety, it’s a great example of why that trade off isn’t always necessary.
The more liberty we have, the better we can defend ourselves, and the less need we have for the government to step in, and step on our liberties as they inevitably do.
It also glossed over the 3-1/2 year minimum prison term for illegal gun possession and the tens of thousands of dollars it costs to defend against gun charges. Here's what happens in real life to New Yorkers who carry guns for their own protection, without the impossible to obtain carry permit:
On December 23, 2008, a search of Burress' New Jersey home by the Totowa, New Jersey Police, the New York Police Department and investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney turned up a 9 mm handgun, a rifle, ammunition and the clothing believed to have been worn by Burress on the night of his accidental shooting.[33] On June 12, 2009 Burress's attorney Benjamin Brafman announced that he had been unable to reach a sentencing agreement.[34]I know someone who had an illegal gun (i.e. no carry permit), and used it to scare off a thug who tried to mug him. The would-be mugger reported him to the police, who frisked him and found the illegal gun. He spent tens of thousands of dollars staying out of prison - money that he had saved for years to start his own business. And he was lucky, unlike Plaxico Burress.Burress asked a Manhattan grand jury for sympathy during two hours of testimony on July 29, 2009.[35] On Monday, August 3, 2009, prosecutors announced that Burress had been indicted[36] by the grand jury on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, and a single count of reckless endangerment in the second degree, both felonies.[37][38]
On August 20, 2009, Burress accepted a plea deal that would put him in prison for two years with an additional two years of supervised release.[36] His sentencing was held on September 22, 2009. Burress hired a prison consultant to advise him on what to expect while in prison.[39] In January 2010, Burress applied for and was denied a work release from prison.[40] On June 6, 2011, Burress was released from a protective custody unit of the Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome, New York.[41][42]
New York already has big government. It doesn't need anarchy added to its list of negatives. Given that (1) the gun laws are oppressive, (2) the majority supports those laws and (3) law-abiding people in NYC don't carry illegal guns, stop-and-frisk is a logical policy in crime-ridden areas. It would be nice to have zero gun control in NYC, but that's not in the cards, so this is making the best of a bad hand.