by Joe Symmes

Created on: August 19, 2011

Suddenly you wake up to the sound of breaking glass…someone is breaking into your home. You call the police. Dispatch is sending a unit to investigate.  Just as you hang up, you hear a crash down the hall. What are you going to do next to ensure you and your family are protected? How will you keep your loved ones safe as the minutes crawl by?

In a society where you are forced to rely on the police or military as the only means of protection, your options are limited. You have to fall asleep at night hoping violence does not come your way. You are banking on the fact that limiting citizen's right to bear arms, will also somehow prevent criminals from being able to get a gun themselves. Since a criminal is someone who by definition breaks the law, this theory is flawed from the start. Additionally, you are also making an assumption that your government will always be able to protect you. Should the police/military lose their authority, power, or direction, what security do you have left? Relying on a single layer of protection is a poor defense when the wolf is at the door.   

A population's safety is based on rules and the fear of the consequences if those rules are broken. Evil will triumph if bad people do not respect those consequences. Throughout the ages, the threat of a violent defense is something that is universally respected. A criminal understands the direct and immediate consequences of a gun pointed at them. Carl von Clausewitz, the 18th century German military theorist, expounded the use of an active defense, "A fundamental principle is never to remain completely passive" [Principles of War]

Even if you don't posses a firearm, the idea that you might have the means to use deadly force against an intruder is a powerful threat. This is a consequence that would be criminals must at least consider. If a population is armed, a criminal's options are much more limited. Simply possessing a firearm does not guarantee evil will have overwhelming force to support it's chosen course of action. It also means that evil must consider reactions from more than just the police. An armed population does not mean a violent population.  It means a society that posses the creditable threat of self-defense.

There is an old saying that locks aren't used to keep thieves out, they simply keep good people honest. The same comparison can be made for firearms.  Guns don't prevent violence, they simply keep bad people in fear of the consequences.

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