Posted on 06/19/2020 10:39:26 AM PDT by Kaslin
With weak mayors and powerless police, we have little choice but to take our safety into our own hands.
I bought a gun last weekend. It’s not a purchase I wanted to make, and I pray I never have to use it, but with mayhem recently engulfing cities across the United States, I and many others are biting the bullet and purchasing firearms.
Mine is a Springfield 9mm — something small enough to fit in my nightstand or under my driver’s seat should I have to visit one of America’s many war-torn cities. But it’s powerful enough to do the job.
I’ve pondered the purchase for years but always found a reason to put it off. The carnage that has rocked the country over the last couple of weeks, however, sealed the deal. After all, I have a duty to protect my family as best I can, and when the government’s protections begin to break down, a firearm becomes my only option.
It’s not that I have anything against guns — quite the opposite. I’m a big believer in the Second Amendment and have defended Americans’ right to bear arms in writing. But guns were such a fixture of my youth that, like a kid forced by overzealous parents to play baseball year after year, I walked away at my first opportunity.
My father was an independent gun dealer who had me shooting my Chipmunk rifle at four years old, and my mom’s second husband was an avid hunter and gun collector. By the time I was 17, I had shot nearly every gun imaginable, from derringer and Desert Eagle pistols to SKS rifles.
I suppose I enjoyed it all at one point, but it’s been 20 years since I fired a live round. I will be heading to the range this week to correct that error.
I seriously doubt I will get the same trigger rush as my gun-loving friends, but I’m not in this for the thrills. Knowing that if someone kicks in my door I have a fighting chance of defending my home is well worth an arduous hour or so at the range. In fact, I have come to view it as my civic responsibility as I witness, in real time, the unraveling of the societal structures that are supposed to ensure our safety.
For years, liberal politicians and their public relations officers in the mainstream media have attempted to repeal the constitutional right to bear arms protected by the Bill of Rights. We were told our juvenile fantasies of protecting ourselves from a tyrannical government were laughable, given the advanced technology of the U.S. military. You know, all that “What good is a rifle against a fighter jet?” nonsense.
But that’s an absurd framing of the issue, done purposely to deflect from the real reason gun owners so passionately cling to their Second Amendment rights: the gross incompetence of their respective local governments.
That incompetence has been abetted by liberal politicians and pundits who, while trying to strip Americans of their right to protect themselves, also demonized American law enforcement by obsessing over and flooding the media with extremely rare incidents of police brutality. They also, of course, ignored the heroic stories of cops risking their lives to save others.
The tragic combination of these two efforts is now playing itself out on the national stage as cities across the country grant license to mobs of looters and rioters, grifting on the heels of the horrific murder of George Floyd and wreaking havoc on minority communities. The predictable result: cities full of sitting ducks in the throes of national turmoil. Thus far, my town has remained immune from such insanity, but the way this madness is spreading, I fear it’s only a matter of time.
The nation’s most iconic newspaper is publishing op-eds calling for the dismantling of police departments across the country. While such thinking was previously confined to America’s most liberal enclaves, it has gained footholds in mid-America cities such as Denver and Nashville.
All the while, violence goes unchecked because America’s police forces either have been ordered to stand down or are paralyzed by the fear that if they do their jobs, the media will ruin their lives. Whatever the reason, I can no longer rely on the government for my safety, and every bad guy in America knows it. Sadly, the left’s concerted campaign against America’s cops is dangerously close to taking them down.
But there’s a silver lining: As America’s cities continue spiraling out of control, millions of Americans like me are exercising their rights and purchasing firearms, thus undoing decades of work by the left to restrict the gun rights of Americans. According to Business Insider:
Federal background checks increased 75% in May compared with 2019, a further acceleration from April’s 69% gain over the previous year, according to Cowen research. Handguns, in particular, were up 94%. Background checks are largely considered a proxy for gun purchases in the absence of more granular sales data.
With weak mayors and powerless police, we have little choice but to take our safety into our own hands.
Now for some range time....
If you are going to carry it in your car better get a CCW.
Very true. If you just buy a gun and put it on a shelf expecting to be able to pick it up and use it to defend your family you’re having a pipe dream.
Weak mayors = wrong
Powerless police = wrong
These Dem mayors are powerful and they know what they are about.
The police have power but are being neutered.
The author is deluding himself.
“I seriously doubt I will get the same trigger rush as my gun-loving friends...”
Don’t deny yourself the pleasure!
And he’d better do a major rethink about stashing it under the car seat. Ultra bad move.
“I Can’t Count on Anyone Else to Protect Me”
Duh.
News flash, boyo, you never could count on anyone else to protect you. Crime happens fast, cops come slow. They’re mostly there just for clean up afterwards.
You just got lucky so far, brainiac.
On a local blog here, neighbors are reporting thieves stopping next to parked trucks, guys jumping out and using crowbars to raid toolboxes and other items. This was going on yesterday a few blocks from my home. Owner called the cops to report it. Another neighbor said he would have confronted the thieves. Can't see doing that without having a firearm, because the thieves may be armed. The bad guys are going into good neighborhoods to raid and pillage.
I support every law abiding American citizen’s right to own a firearm after they pass the back ground check.
I have two very strong suggestion, learn how to properly use it, (practice often), and learn when to use it.
A gun can provide security but it is also a responsibility.
You are way late...learn how to operate it safely and confidently...keep it out of inappropriate hands....firearms ownership brings great responsibility...congrats...
Don’t need a CCW in my state - thank God
Just got my extra stuff yesterday. I pray that I never, ever need it.
Took nearly two weeks to get my order to arrive, though.
excellent!
self-defense is Essential, especially with the SorozNazi DNC gangsters rampaging in our streets
Those two statements always belong together. I have had several guns that were defective at purchase or failed within the first few rounds. A S&W that misfired more often than not (thank you S&W for amazing customer service that left me thinking their custom shop had rebuilt the thing), a Walther that was fully automatic when delivered and reverted to semiauto once I disassmbled it and correctly reassembled it, and a Remington 870 where the trigger was unreliable until I cleaned it thoroughly and removed some think gunk from inside. [No, I'm not unlucky, I just buy a lot of guns.] Besides training, you need that first range visit just to test the hardware.
“under my driver’s seat “
That’ll be real handy.
If you have shot everything under the sun, why would you buy a freaking 9mm, lol.
Various situations call for various applications. A sidearm has some accuracy up to maybe 25 feet. After that something else would be better, and notice that the mobs operate as mobs, so 15 rounds will buy you a few seconds before you have to go to Plan B.
Important point: “as police presence goes down, gun sales go up.”
I have sort of thought about getting a gun, especially when I lived in more remote places, but now I’m seriously going to do it - and I live in a city in Florida where I shouldn’t have to worry about this.
One of the main functions of government at any level is to provide domestic security. And our governments aren’t doing it anymore.
roadcat wrote:
“With weak mayors and powerless police, we have little choice but to take our safety into our own hands.
On a local blog here, neighbors are reporting thieves stopping next to parked trucks, guys jumping out and using crowbars to raid toolboxes and other items. This was going on yesterday a few blocks from my home. Owner called the cops to report it. Another neighbor said he would have confronted the thieves. Can’t see doing that without having a firearm, because the thieves may be armed. The bad guys are going into good neighborhoods to raid and pillage.”
See freepmail..
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