https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/get-gun-liel-leibovitz-jews
We are, as the writer Louise Perry pointed out this week, increasingly in a world of anarcho-tyranny, wherein governments fail “to enforce or adjudicate protection to its citizens while simultaneously persecuting innocent conduct.”
“Even in a society that functions well, there are microbursts of that society failing,” Kareen Shaya, cofounder of Open Source Defense, said in an interview a few years ago. “If someone breaks into your house in the middle of the night, that’s society failing for a few minutes. If someone stops and mugs you in the street, that’s society failing for a few minutes. If your spouse beats you, that’s society failing for a few minutes. Society, if it’s functioning well, is going to have your back most of the time. In those moments where it fails, I would ask: Do you have society’s back? Are you ready to fill that gap for those few minutes until society can recover and come to help you? That’s how I view gun ownership.”
The Jewish way of gun ownership is more about responsibility than power. It doesn’t flex its muscles or measure its worth in calibers. It’s precisely what the license says it ought to be: concealed, there when you need it and unobtrusive when you don’t. You can see it on display—or, rather, you can’t—when you visit Crown Heights: Every store, more or less, has a little notice in the window informing you that if you’ve got a piece and a permit, you’re very welcome to walk right in. Which tells you that the men and women you see going about their day, while far from your stereotypical image of gun-toting berserkers, are staying subtle and staying safe.
A gun is not a panacea.
ReplyDelete№ 1 Justification
Every state has its own laws. A state may allow you to "stand your ground". Shoot someone attacking you, be able to demonstrate you were justified, and the police will just move on to other policing work while you go home. Another state may expect you, in general, to warn the attacker, back away from the attacker, etc. before shooting.
№ 2 Training
Therefore, someone who carries is advised to take intensive and ongoing training classes to be able, under pressure, to make the right decisions and act according to the law. There are many, many people who have served time for shooting someone when it was not absolutely justified self-defense. "Feeling afraid" is not justification. Shooting when something like pepper spray might have been a better response may also lead to trouble. And even pepper spraying under the wrong circumstances can lead to a felony charge.
№ 3 Camera
Therefore, someone who carries is advised to wear a body camera, also.
№ 4 Brandishing
Showing a potential attacker a gun in order to get them to back off is not a good strategy. In fact, it could be a crime. Someone carrying should know that if they draw, or reveal the gun if they are concealed carrying, that they should only be doing so because they are ready to shoot.
№ 5 Jams
Guns sometimes jam when they are needed most. Again, hours and hours of training at the range can help someone deal with all situations. Always keep the finger off the trigger till ready to shoot. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction (when not aiming it at a threat). Always consider what is behind the target.
№ 6 Ineffective
Bullets can be ineffective in preventing an attack. Someone shot in the heart might have 30 seconds of life left where they can run and close the distance between themselves and the person they are attacking. Someone might have six bullet wounds, any one of which they will die from within a short time, and they can still be firing their gun.
So, yeah, get a gun. But before doing so, do some research and after getting the gun take ongoing gun courses and spend time every week at the range.