Before I get into today’s topic, I would first like to say that our prayers are with the victims of last night’s shooting, and the people of Aurora, Colorado.
In light of last night’s shooting I will still post on the topic of guns for self defense.
So far, I’ve published two in a series on guns for the purpose of self defense. What I have not yet addressed fully is the tactical necessity of why guns are necessary.
First, a gun is a tool, just like a hammer, scalpel, kitchen knife, or light saber. These tools are all non-moral beings, meaning they have no inherent morality. They are neither good nor bad, however, each of these can be used for good or evil purposes. A hammer was created for a purpose, that purpose being to pound nails into wood. The same is true for a scalpel, which is designed for cutting in a medical procedure. The kitchen knife was created to cut food. There exists the potential for each of these tools to be used for evil purposes. Hammers and kitchen knives can and have been used as weapons, scalpels or “curettes” are used to perform abortions. The tool does not decide its actual use, the user does.
The same is true for guns. If I place a gun on my kitchen table, and nobody touches it, it will not fire. It won’t make a sandwich, call the plumber, fold the laundry, or do any of the things a hammer, scalpel, or kitchen knife won’t do on its own.
“…There’s no such thing as a good gun. There’s no such thing as a bad gun. A gun in the hands of a bad man is a very dangerous thing. A gun in the hands of a good person is no danger to anyone except the bad guys…” ~Charlton Heston
The decision and handling of the gun by the person in control of the gun decides whether or not the action taken is good or evil. If I run into an Internet cafe and start shooting innocent people, I have committed an evil deed. The same is true if I take a kitchen knife to the Internet cafe and begin stabbing patrons. On the other hand, if I am a patron at the Internet cafe, and an armed man enters and discloses his nefarious purposes, and I shoot the attacker thus ending the attack and saving innocent lives, I have done a good thing.
“But what about accidentally hitting innocent bystanders” they say. I have struggled to find any evidence that bystanders have been hit by do-gooders. Usually the bystanders have long taken cover from the time the attack begins.
One familiar objection to guns for self-defense is the proposal that we simply wait for the police to arrive and take care of the situation. In this day and age, that may sound like the right idea or the popular idea, but judging by the numbers, it’s a bit scary.
According to the Dallas Police Department budget briefing for 2008/2009, states that the goal for police response time is to arrive at the scene in 8 minutes or less 75% of the time. In one of the four calls, it’ll take longer than 8 minutes for police to arrive. A lot can happen in 8 minutes. If someone breaks into your house, and you don’t wake up until the intruder is already inside, he can do a lot of damage in 8 minutes, and the police will arrive in time to draw the chalk outlines around the bodies of your family. My statement is not to say the police don’t mean well, or that they don’t try to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. The statement is a factual one, that the police cannot respond to a call quickly enough to stop the crime before the really bad stuff happens.
With regard to the Aurora shooting, the police didn’t arrive and intervene until 12 people were already dead and 50 others injured or wounded. Moviegoers tried to flee the theater, but were shot by the murderer before they could exit the door. What is a person to do? There are only two options left. The first option, and the most common and unsuccessful is to cower in the corner beg the murderer not to kill you. The second option is to use your firearm to stop the shooting before more people are injured or killed. As I said before, a gun in the hands of a good person is a good thing. After all, don’t we call good people with gunspolice when bad people do bad things? This is the very reason many jurisdictions issue concealed carry permitsConcealed Carry Permit training includes several hours of classroom training, as well as shooting safety instruction and a shooting qualification test. Call your local law enforcement agency for details. to private citizens. The police cannot be everywhere all the time, and thus recognize that armed citizens are sometimes needed to protect innocent human life.
Finally, when purchasing a gun for self-defense, one must also get plenty of training in how to use the gun. In my part of the world, gun training is rather common. The sheriff’s department teaches classes, as do all of the gun ranges in the area. As I said in my previous post, you don’t have to be a master or in any great physical condition to properly use a firearm for self-defense, but you must have basic knowledge of what NOT to do. This training is vastly more important than the actual firearm you choose.
As an added bonus to this post, I’ll even provide your very first firearm lesson. Every gun, no matter what make or model, has two safeties: your brain and your finger. Don’t point your gun at anything you don’t want to destroy, and don’t put your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to destroy your target.
The last post in this series will come next week, when I address some effects guns have on society.
In the meantime, may God be with the people of Aurora, Colorado.