"In a free society we must rely on the police."
Here's a piece of moronic logic. If we must rely on the government, we're anything but free.
The cops rarely prevent a crime, they show up afterward, mop up the mess and try to locate the perp.
Tom Derby is a perfect example of what living in a city and being raised by a long line of people who are scared of/see no need for guns can do to a person's mindset on life in general. The bubble he apparently exists within is not representative of life everywhere, for everyone.
Let this guy spend a night alone at my uncle's farmhouse sometime a we'll see how he feels when a bunch of coyotes start yipping just beyond the bushes in the backyard. Or, when some clown who ran out of gas or slid his car into the ditch comes pounding on the door looking for help at midnight.
It's times like those, even if there is no true immediate danger, that one is comforted by the presence of the ol' shotgun in the closet. My uncle will help anyone who seems honest and truthful, but he never lets them in the house and he never goes out the door without his .38 revolver in his coat pocket.
Citified fools, that's all Derby and his ilk are.