U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Don’t expect people with narrow experience to have deep insights into the human condition. Recent news described how violent the New York City subways really are. There were four stabbings on the subway in one 18-hour period last week. A few days later, a 57-year-old woman was brutally attacked as well. In her case, she was repeatedly kicked from behind as she walked down the subway stairs. When she refused to fall on her face, her attacker repeatedly hit her in the head with a hammer until she lost consciousness and could not defend herself. Then she was robbed. This brought to mind the recent discussions in front of the US Supreme court. We can’t ask experts to solve our daily problems when the reality is just a theory to them.
The case before the Supreme Court hinged on New York state law. New York requires a criminal background check before you can buy a handgun. All handgun owners in New York are now law-abiding citizens, at least in theory. New York also demands an additional permit to carry a concealed handgun in public. The problem before the court was that the state wouldn’t issue those permits to ordinary citizens who go to ordinary places. In fact, those carry permits were political plumbs handed out to well-connected elites.
During the court discussion, US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan acted shocked that people might want to legally carry concealed firearms on the New York City subway or in Times Square. The reason we need to carry is such places is because criminals go where we are in order to hunt us. There are no safe places or safe times. The obvious evidence is in the newspaper every day.
The judge is an intelligent person who grew up in New York City. I assume that she is deliberately distorting the facts about crime in New York to suit her political leanings. In fact, the police almost never catch criminals in the act of committing a crime. Each criminal will commit dozens of crimes and injure dozens of victims before the criminal is finally arrested. These days, the criminal may be back on the street in hours after their arrest.
The police do not keep us safe. We do that. I report on armed defense so I know we defend ourselves thousands of times a day.
Our personal defense is up to us. The female victim who was attacked on the subway tried to curl up and protect her head. New York state denied this victim a more effective means of defense. To put a point on my argument, it is hard to be a good witness, Judge Kagan, when we have a shattered skull, a bleeding brain, and while we are hospitalized in a vegetative state. We first need to defend ourselves and survive our attack.
Don’t leave our physical defense up to judicial “experts.” Please learn how to defend yourself. Apply for your carry permit and go armed where you can. Vote the people who deny your right of defense out of political office. Your safety, and the safety of your neighbors, requires it.
About Rob Morse
The original article, with sources, is posted here. Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily, at Second Call Defense, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.