Across the country, Second Amendment rights are on the march. While the anti-Second Amendment (anti-2A) crowd is fighting it tooth and nail, gradually more and more Americans are realizing that their personal security is their responsibility, and no one else can keep them safe. The anti-2A crowd loves their emotional arguments, and one I frequently hear is "Guns won't solve the problem," usually in reference to a murder or active shooter situation. Well, they're right, but it doesn't matter, because they're making the wrong argument.
When they try to make the argument that guns won't solve the problem, they are making a high level argument - they're saying that one particular tool won't solve the overall problems of murder, rape, robbery, etc, or the specter of homegrown extremists or active shooters. And they are correct. These problems are complex, with many underlying factors - poverty, affluence, lack of a sense of purpose, greed, hunger for power, a need to belong, mental illness - and to believe that the introduction of a single tool is going to address all those underlying issues is ludicrous. So, in a sense they are correct - more guns won't solve the high level problem.
Here's the thing - guns aren't supposed to solve the high level problem. In the hands of a properly trained citizen, guns are a tool used to defend against a low level problem - the immediate act of violence. I don't carry my Glock to prevent crime in California, or even in the next town over; I carry it to prevent an attack against the innocents in my immediate vicinity. A gun won't solve the problems and evil choices that lead an individual to attempt a rape or murder someone in the course of a robbery. However, along with a proper mindset and skillset, a gun can be used to stop the attempted rape or murder, leaving the victim alive and free to make the impact on the world they were born for.
It's important for responsible citizens to understand this fact, not just because it's useful in an argument, but because we all need to realize that guns are not a "one size fits all" solution. A gun is a tool that must be coupled with a proper mindset and skillset to be effective in defending the innocent. In fact, in a best case scenario the gun will never enter the equation - the citizen will recognize and avoid the trouble in the first place, or the police will be immediately available to assist the victim and arrest the perpetrator. But we must realize that Hope - as shiny as it looks - is not a plan. That is why we carry, and why we fight for the right to do so. Not because we are under any illusions that we are solving the very real high level issues, but because we realize that there are people who have made a choice to do evil, they have no qualms about it, and the only thing between them and the innocent are good men and women who have made the choice that evil will not win the day.
Choose right, train hard, live free.
