When it comes to advice regarding strategies to avoid violent victimization in the home and in public, every media personality and retired big-city cop seems to be an expert. What always makes me want to reach into the television and grab these “experts” by the ears for a highly animated talking-to is their almost universal penchant for intentionally ignoring the most obvious of all home and personal defense tools—the firearm.
Guns have existed for hundreds of years and saved millions of lives, both from actual death and from the devastating physical and mental consequences associated with being the victim of a violent predator. There is a reason that we require our police and military personnel to carry them. They are the most effective and efficient means of protecting human life in whatever place humans may exist—land, sea and air.
Here is where the anti-gun zealots blindly chant, “Yeah, but they are police and military.” It’s as if they believe these men and women who used to be awkward boys and girls like the rest of us are born with super-human qualities. Maybe they’ve watched too much TV or read too many comic books? The truth is that the vast majority of the best shooters alive today have never served in either role. They’re just plain old good members of the unwashed masses like me. It’s as if they believe these men and women who used to be awkward boys and girls like the rest of us are born with super-human qualities.
For a gut-busting example of the safety “experts” ignoring the blatantly obvious, check out this story that Jeff Rossen did for the “TODAY Show.” As the retired NYPD detective talks about the absolute effectiveness of wasp spray for stopping a home invader in his tracks, I want to do the grab-him-by-the-ears thing I mentioned earlier and ask him if he’s ever heard of dudes like Samuel Colt and John Moses Browning.
Another apparently foolproof measure recommended in the piece is keeping your vehicle remote (not your trusty self-defense firearm, of course) next to your bed so that once intruders are in the house you can activate the alarm function. My experience is that no bystander pays attention to car alarms in today’s age. They are nothing but an annoyance.
Really, it’s a sad commentary that we are utterly shocked when firearms are mentioned as a security option in the “mainstream” media or by so-called security “experts.” When did we allow the sheep to run the show? Much of this is due to the anti-gun propaganda masquerading as science that has blindly been accepted as fact by too many soft, passive souls.
The Kellermann “study” is the most commonly cited example of this. It’s the kind of trash that should embarrass a fifth-grader doing a creative writing assignment. Kellermann attempted to prove that keeping firearms in the home caused more danger than benefit to the occupants. He looked at murder victims in the Seattle area and tallied those who had firearms in their residence. He claims to have found that a disproportionate number had firearms available to them. One of many comical points is that it didn’t matter if a firearm was in any way, shape or form involved in the actual killing.
People who believe Kellermann’s finding that gun ownership is directly related to high rates of murder must also believe that AA meetings cause alcoholism.
Kellermann ignored this ground-level truth in his sorry excuse for a study. In truth, his “gun owner” murder victims were gang bangers and drug dealers who lived by the sword, and then died by it. These criminals almost universally arm themselves because they know they lead exceptionally dangerous lives. Kellermann had to have known of this fundamental flaw associated with his work, but he had a personal agenda to secure and he was going to make it happen one way or another.It’s the kind of trash that should embarrass a fifth-grader doing a creative writing assignment.
While Kellermann was counting the armed criminals who were being murdered by other criminals in Seattle, all of the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding, gainfully employed gun owners in the area quietly went about their lives. They were safer and more empowered because of their firearm ownership. And the softies everywhere began to use Kellermann’s work as the evidence they so badly needed to portray guns in the home as nothing but a danger.
For those representing themselves to the public as personal security experts to ignore or dismiss firearms as a viable self- and family-defense option is misconduct of the highest order. They actively promote helplessness and dependence. They must understand that too many unarmed victims of home invasions and other violent crimes who are fortunate enough to survive deeply regret their decision to deprive themselves of arms.
Guns ownership is not right for everyone. This is obvious. For some, it’s more of a liability than anything. However, for those who have the right “victor, not victim” mindset and a willingness to train to prevail in a violent encounter, a firearm is undeniably the most effective and efficient defensive tool available. This is what any true, rational security adviser should convey.
We should all strive to confront those who do not provide the whole story. They are a danger to the public and, sadly, an unintentional advocate of violent criminals by making their “working environment” safer for them. As the bumper sticker on my truck used to say so succinctly, “Criminals Prefer Unarmed Victims.”
Darren LaSorte lobbied with NRA-ILA for 14 years and now lives and works in Dallas, TX. His passions are shooting, hunting and self-defense training.
