PrintApril 19, 2007
In Defense of Defending Ourselves
Another shockingly violent, but fortunately rare, case of sudden criminal behavior hit us from media pages, airwaves and screens this week. They called it a "massacre." Students and faculty at Virginia Tech were gunned down by a madman. They were taken by surprise with little means to protect themselves, except to run and hide.
Despite police being at the scene early in the killer's rampage, he eventually killed 32 people, wounded 15 more and shot himself. Ineffective college authorities could only "communicate" by e-mail to warn students and staff of the lone raging maniac.
The killer had the advantage: surprising his unaware victims and being armed with evil intent. The innocent, law-abiding people on campus were vulnerable: at first, they didn't know he was out there; when he started shooting them no one was armed. They were unable to defend themselves against deadly force.
Of course, random, unexpected acts of violence can't be prevented. But the perpetrators can be neutralized by those at the scene who are prepared. Hundreds of thousands of citizens with firearms counteract violent criminals in their attempts to burglarize, assault and murder every year.
In the aftermath of this mass killing at Blacksburg, Virginia, with all the other reflections being offered, we should be reminded that we have the God-given right to defend ourselves. Further, it's self-evident and codified in the Second Amendment to our Constitution. We have a fundamental right to "bear arms." But radical, misguided anti-gun activists and their political allies persist to curtail that right.
A few gun-ban activists will come out of their hiding places, taking advantage of this evil shooters' crime, to feebly set forth their support for the political agenda to disarm Americans. One of the anti-gun mantras they'll probably trot out in Virginia is "closing gun-show loopholes." Fact is, there is no such thing. All of many existing laws apply to gun transactions at gun-shows just as they apply anywhere. Background checks, federal forms, signed affidavits, number of guns purchased are all required of dealers at retail stores, auctions, houses, and shows.
Anti-gun groups such as the Brady Campaign and Violence Policy Center promote illusionary "gun-control," but their ultimate goal is to have the government confiscate all firearms.
If we allow this to happen it will mark the end of the unique security that America enjoys. Most governments in the world, with the exception of places such as Switzerland (where households are required to have guns), have disarmed their citizens. Crime is worse in many of those countries and people less secure than we here in most of America.
But you don't have to go to Europe to lose your right to self-defense. In many of our cities such as New York and Washington, D. C., you can't legally have a handgun; even in your home in Washington. In fact, in NYC it's illegal to carry pepper-spray to defend yourself. Guns are also banned on college campuses.
Well, guess who might have guns in these places, in addition to the police? Sadly, we have another tragic result from this imbalance. It's well established that crime rates have fallen as gun ownership has increased in America over recent years, but some people refuse to acknowledge reality.
In NYC, Mayor Michael Bloomberg in collusion with the Violence Policy Center; the Brady bunch; Sen. Chuck Schumer and U. S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy have declared war on "illegal guns." Bloomberg's scheme is to shut down firearm commerce. To these people all guns are "illegal." Despite a strict gun ban in NYC, armed thugs threaten the streets. Bloomberg's solution: bring lawsuits against small businesses, manufacturers, distributors and dealers. He makes guns the problem, not his criminal population.
To divert attention from their failure to control criminal behavior, government officials and their accomplices focus on legitimate business people and citizens who do obey the laws. Using a rogue federal court in New York Bloomberg's cabal claims that a business in, say, Virginia, creates a "nuisance" in New York City.
Far from big cities, a gun-ban mentality exists in Blacksburg as well. Here in the heart of rural America, generations of people have assumed their rights to have guns and defend themselves. Virginians live in one of 40 states where they can be licensed to carry a handgun, concealed. Yet guns (even replicas) are banned on the campus at Virginia Tech. A demented killer knew that here he would have no trouble stalking defenseless prey.
We must ask what the outcome of the murderous assault on students and faculty would have been if only one of them had been able to confront the murderer with a handgun?
