The current climate in our country has led to record-setting gun sales. This can be measured by the number of FBI background checks, the bare shelves in stores that sell firearms and ammunition, and manufacturers who struggle to keep up with demand.
Why is this happening? The most basic answer is that people do not feel safe. Contributing factors are the defund the police movement, the isolation of COVID lockdown, skyrocketing crime, and the failure to prosecute repeat violent offenders.
For example, the NYC District Attorney recently said that his office would not prosecute criminals for using a gun in a crime as long as they didn’t pull the trigger. Another large city contemplated paying criminals a preemptive fee for not victimizing citizens. And noted civil rights activist, Reverend Al Sharpton recently complained about people “stealing stuff” when he had to ask a pharmacy employee to unlock toothpaste from a cabinet.
As a result, many feel compelled to take personal responsibility for protecting themselves, their businesses and their families. Given this environment, here are a few points to consider as we collectively determine the best path forward.
Firstly, buying a gun is similar to buying a musical instrument. Mere ownership does not equate with proficiency. Proper training and practice are required to become a conscientious gun owner. Two of my favorite books about gun owner responsibility are Life Without Fear (Handguns and Self Defense) by my early mentors, Mike Dalton and Mickey Fowler, and The Law of Self Defense by attorney Andrew Branca, with whom I instructed at the SIG Sauer Academy in Epping.
Importantly, both books stress how to avoid violent confrontations and the judicious use of deadly force only if absolutely necessary.
Secondly, statistics are often used by both pro-and anti-gun advocates to support their respective positions. Yet there is no common agreed statistical standard. Should suicide, for instance, be included with murder when calculating gun violence? How about justifiable police shootings?
Several years ago, there was an anti-gun rally at the State House in Concord. During the event, the names of those who had been victims of gun violence were read. However, when Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s name was spoken, people in the crowd yelled, “But he was a terrorist!” “That’s the Boston Marathon bomber!” Needless to say, he did not belong on the victims’ list.
Another instance of incorrect statistics was featured in a recent Los Angeles Times article, “Guns and self defense –don’t buy the myth,” republished in the Monitor on February 7. The author, Dr. Steven Sainsbury, states that pro-gun experts are false when they “claim that more than 2 million gun-use deaths occur each year.”
The truth is that law-abiding citizens use firearms an estimated 2 million times a year for self-defense. Importantly, in an overwhelming majority of these cases, the guns were never fired. Let me share some close-to-home examples.
While living in California, once when a burglar armed with a gun entered my store and another in my driveway when a man armed with a butcher knife threatened assault, I was able to defeat each assailant without firing a shot. Criminals generally like easy targets and when they saw I was armed, both quickly ran away. A good thing, too, because it took the police over 45 minutes to arrive after I called 911.
My brother, who had served in the Army Military Police, trained a friend how to protect herself with a handgun. One night while driving home, she was forced off the road by a man who got out of his car brandishing a tire iron. As he approached her car, she tapped on the window with the barrel of her revolver. The man stopped in his tracks, hightailed it back to his car and drove away. Again, no shots were fired.
Here’s the bottom line: having a gun for self-defense requires a lot of responsibility and it won’t fit everyone’s lifestyle or comfort zone. That said, these examples are not a myth and, in my view, are much more compelling than Dr. Sainsbury’s academic studies and surveys.
Furthermore, had I taken the doctor’s advice, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be here today to tell the tale!
(Mike Briggs is an Army veteran who served in the Military Police. He’s a former instructor at the Lethal Force Institute and the California Dept. of Justice. Briggs owns New England Tactical and is a member of the Monitor’s Reader Advisory Board.)