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The Anti-Police Rioters Finally Got Me To Buy My First Gun
The Federalist ^ | June 19, 2020 | Greg Jones

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 Can’t Count on Anyone Else to Protect Me

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.

As Police Presence Goes Down, Gun Sales Go Up

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.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2ndamendment; banglist; civilunrest; firearms; georgefloyd; gfloydprotests; gunrights; guns; lawenforcement; looting; nra; police; policebrutality; policeofficers; rioting; riots; secondamendment
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To: AnotherUnixGeek
I've owned a handgun for years, but the riots have convinced me I need a shotgun as well.

Ditto. Any recommendations out there?

21 posted on 06/19/2020 10:55:44 AM PDT by windsorknot
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To: DownInFlames

I have a feeling that this is prescient. Just as the gentleman had to use his gun against a skateboard and a knife(?), there will be more of this one off defenses as more people start packing.

I know that the leftists have guns and the desire to do harm, but as more and more people are seeing the light, just like the author of the article, the price for this kind of attack will rise.

The flash point will be when they start showing up at the residences of the “doxed” targets and fire bombing houses at night, under the cover of darkness. Then the ugly gets going.


22 posted on 06/19/2020 10:57:44 AM PDT by wbarmy (I chose to be a sheepdog once I saw what happens to the sheep.)
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To: Grimmy

Aw c’mon. Welcome him into the light. We need more like him.


23 posted on 06/19/2020 10:58:53 AM PDT by Ken H (Best SOTU ever!)
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To: lurk

Additionally, all of these mob attacks are at very close range, and I want something really comfortable in my hand when it occurs. And usually, after the first shot, most of the mob starts running, especially the more “tribal” in nature mobs.


24 posted on 06/19/2020 10:59:36 AM PDT by wbarmy (I chose to be a sheepdog once I saw what happens to the sheep.)
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To: antidemoncrat

Very true!!!


25 posted on 06/19/2020 10:59:37 AM PDT by RoseofTexas
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To: Kaslin

There’s nothing like having a gun when you need a gun.


26 posted on 06/19/2020 11:04:59 AM PDT by EnglishOnly (eeWFight all out to win OR get out now. .)
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To: OftheOhio

Me, who can’t even find the target in the finder shooting a gun? Ha ha


27 posted on 06/19/2020 11:07:20 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

And I’m sure this goes for all God Fearing, Tax Paying and upright citizens MALE FEMALE and everything in between!


28 posted on 06/19/2020 11:08:33 AM PDT by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US:-))
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To: windsorknot
Any recommendations out there?

my grand-SIL has a saiga 12 ga w/ a 50 round drum mag ... happy with it

29 posted on 06/19/2020 11:09:38 AM PDT by TheRightGuy
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To: SaveFerris

Gun are selling like hot cakes!!! Went for some ammo at academy the other day...shelves are empty but for a few items. Asked the clerk what’s going on he told us as soon as their merchandise arrives it’s snatched up quickly! I was the 6th person in line at the gun counter looking for an item! People are scared and buying guns! The shooting ranges are always packed too!


30 posted on 06/19/2020 11:10:13 AM PDT by RoseofTexas
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To: Kaslin

I am looking too.


31 posted on 06/19/2020 11:10:30 AM PDT by Phillyred
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To: Kaslin

well he’s taken the first step on the path

but we have a 2A right regardless of ‘weak mayors’ or whether the streets are fine or erupting in chaos


32 posted on 06/19/2020 11:10:31 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Kaslin

While a 45 would be surer if protecting you, a 9 is a million times better than nothing. A million times. Congratulations! ( just be ready to use multiple shots if the first one doesn’t stop your assailant)


33 posted on 06/19/2020 11:10:41 AM PDT by faithhopecharity (Politicians are not born, theyÂ’re excreted. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: Kaslin; All

Detroit’s GREAT Chief of Police told the citizens to arm up. We can’t protect you in all situations.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/6/editorial-eliminating-gun-crime/

HOORAY Chief Craig, mayor Mike Duggan, Prosecutor Kym Worthy and Detroit citizens!!! Lots of GREAT Americans in Detroit.


34 posted on 06/19/2020 11:10:59 AM PDT by PGalt (Past Peak Civilization?)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

freedom-loving friends


35 posted on 06/19/2020 11:11:45 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Ken H

We need more like him.

********

Imo, tigers don’t change their stripes.

As soon as the pressure’s off, they revert right back to their default settings.


36 posted on 06/19/2020 11:12:53 AM PDT by Grimmy (equivocation is but the first step along the road to capitulation)
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To: livius

That is really government’s first and most important job...secure your rights. What a joke this country has become. Democrats are a cancer.


37 posted on 06/19/2020 11:13:27 AM PDT by Phillyred
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To: lurk

plan b is machete and knife


38 posted on 06/19/2020 11:13:34 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: TigerHawk
And he’d better do a major rethink about stashing it under the car seat. Ultra bad move.

When I drive, I have a 357 Magnum sitting on my console, covered by a small towel, but very "gettable".

My other one is either 38 snubby or a 9mm that I use as a ball warmer, also very "gettable".

The only thing under my seat is a hatchet, a machete and a rubber hammer in case I need to go medieval and "bash and slash".

I am against violence, except in the case of self defense, in which case, barbarian is my model.

39 posted on 06/19/2020 11:17:02 AM PDT by USS Alaska (NUKE THE MOOSELIMB, TERRORISTS, NOW!)
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To: Phillyred

Dems are a cancer ... that has metastasized.


40 posted on 06/19/2020 11:17:10 AM PDT by livius
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