Tim Young used to take his freedom for granted. He used to think that those who advocate for the right to carry were off the mark. Now that he has been a victim of an armed robbery, he has changed his mind.
“I think a lot of those people who are opposed to having a concealed-carry permit and being able to own a weapon have never had one pointed directly at them when they have nothing on them,” Young said during a recent interview with WUSA9. “That level of fear and that level of helplessness that you feel, it doesn’t compare to anything else I’ve felt in my life.”
Young was walking down a well-lit part of M Street in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, when two thugs derailed his simple plan to get a drink at a neighborhood coffee shop. They accosted him around 7:45 p.m., taking his cell phone and pushing him around.
Young tweeted: “Last night I was robbed at gunpoint by 2 men in DC by the new @TheWharfDC on the way to get coffee at @dolcezzagelato at 7:45pm. They got my phone and tossed me around while people watched from a half block away. Then they ran off. Thanks to @DCPoliceDept for your help.”
While it’s regrettable that someone who was once ambivalent about using a gun to protect himself had to face a life-threatening situation before he realized that armed self-defense is a good thing, maybe others can learn from Young’s misfortune.
Young grew up in Baltimore, and although he admits to having been in some dicey places in his life, he had never really feared for his life before.
“You know, when you’re in an instance where there’s a gun is pointed at you and your life is being threatened for your property and no one’s going to help—and now I know that no one’s going to help—I want to feel more secure. I want to feel safe, and like I have something to defend myself with,” he told Bruce Johnson during the interview.
Young later appeared on NRATV for an interview with Cam Edwards, where they discussed the fact that Young will complete the requisite training and apply for a carry permit in D.C. The good thing is, he can do that now. Not long ago, the nation’s capital required applicants to show “good cause” before they could get a permit. Recently, the courts struck down the District’s arcane restrictions, which basically gave the police chief the power to decide who could and could not exercise their constitutional rights.
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