GUN RIGHTS ARE IMPORTANT TO HAVE A FREE AND SAFE SOCIETY

A small country store in rural Georgia became the site of bloodshed
yesterday. According to the Associated Press, two men entered Shoats
Grocery & Package with the intent of robbing the establishment. When
the husband and wife owners failed to give them money quickly enough,
one of the robbers shot at the husband, Bobby Doster. Fortunately, he
missed.

At that point both the Dosters each drew weapons and killed the
robbers.

While it is a tragedy that lives were lost, no reasonable person can
argue that the Dosters were at any fault; the local officials in
Georgia agree. It's sad to think that there are those in the United
States who regard this basic right to self-defense with suspicion or
outright contempt. Ironically, it is very often in the most
crime-ridden areas that the average citizen is legally banned from
carrying a handgun for self-defense. Washington, D.C., for example,
has one of the highest murder rates in the country. Yet residents of
that city are prohibited by law from keeping a firearm in their homes,
let alone having one on their persons.

The situation is similar in any large metropolitan area. I can imagine
what some of the more left-leaning readers may be thinking of all
this: we need gun control to cut down on crime.

That's right up there with the argument that keeping marijuana illegal
will make the country drug-free. In the same way that a small
percentage of people will smoke pot whether it's legal or not, there
is also a small percentage of people who will use a gun to commit
crime regardless of how many gun control laws there are. I'm not
worried about the potheads.

They'll just order a pizza and be happy when it arrives.

The truly dangerous criminals will order a pizza and then rob the
delivery guy, possibly at gunpoint.

This is precisely the reason that peaceful citizens should have zero
restrictions on the right to self-defense. The police cannot be there
to help you in every dangerous situation. If your home is being
invaded or you're being assaulted on the street, you don't have time
for the boys in blue to show up. A weapon on your person can make the
difference between your life and death. I could, of course, make a
long argument in favor of an armed citizenry from the standpoint of
pushing off oppressive government, but we've long since been
conditioned by public schools and the corporate media to shut up and
do as we're told. Why am I addressing this issue so fervently?

Surely we don't have to worry about such things here in Blacksburg.
Generally speaking, that is correct.

Blacksburg is safer than most places (interestingly enough, it is here
in the safer places that one can openly carry a firearm without even
getting a permit). However, many of us will not live in Blacksburg
permanently. We will go to larger areas where crime is more common and
the average citizen faces a greater threat of robbery, rape or even
murder. Am I, and are others like me, just being paranoid?

Certainly not. At least no more so than those who are concerned about
the rights of free speech, privacy or trial by jury. We must have
eternal vigilance of all our rights -- even the ones we don't exercise
on a daily basis -- to ensure that they are not taken away. I'm sure
the Dosters can appreciate that.