The Reason Tommy J. And I Want You To Be Armed

Part 4 in Series

Last month, I let the founding fathers do the opining for me, as to the original intention and meaning of the Second Amendment. This month you will hear from another founding father, and me, as to why we want you to exercise your Second Amendment right.

So why do Tommy J. and I want all (qualified by me: responsible) citizens to be well armed? Well, (to be serious and respectful), former President Thomas Jefferson had something to say about that, and it is eerily timeless in its advice to us today: “The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes…. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” (Thomas Jefferson in Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776)

Here is a true story that may convince you as well. This happened a few months ago, to a friend’s son who lives in Seattle, the father of three young daughters. One night, hearing someone breaking into his home, he quickly got his daughters safely into his bedroom, removed his firearm from the gun safe in his bedroom, and barricaded the door before calling 911. After placing the call, he yelled loudly to the trespassers that he had called 911, that he was armed with a gun, and that he would use it.

The three teenage intruders did not leave the house until they heard the police coming. When they were caught by the police, they were asked why they stayed in the house after being told the homeowner was armed. Their answer may not surprise some of you. They said they didn’t think anyone in Seattle had firearms and thought the homeowner was lying about having one.

Unarmed good guys are prime targets for armed, or even unarmed, bad guys. Bad guys will always have access to a variety of weapons, look at the recent shooting in Connecticut, a state who has the fifth strictest gun laws in the land. How has that designation worked out for them? There are more bad guys out there than there are police officers to protect us from them. As a former reserve police officer, given the current climate, I would expect it will be more and more difficult to hire and retain officers. Due to what may result in decreases in manpower, and what seem to be continuous increases in crime and/or crises, response times may get longer and longer. Just how long are you willing to wait helplessly, hoping someone will come to your rescue?

The founding fathers owned firearms, respected them and expected us to protect their legacy by owning them. In addition to exercising your Second Amendment rights, I want you to own firearms also for self-protection. But I also want you to be well trained in their use. In fact, I think responsible firearm ownership includes being tactically trained similar to how I was trained in the police academy. If someone breaks into your house to do you harm, I don’t want the bad guys telling the police “I didn’t think anyone owned firearms anymore.” I want the bad guys to think everyone owns a firearm, and knows how to use it.

In the final part of this series next month, I will give you a real life current example of what happens to a country that allows itself to be disarmed. You can reach me at ctyreeccbd@gmail.com

Comments to: The Reason Tommy J. And I Want You To Be Armed

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *