Americans NEED Guns

Post lifted from Interested Participant


The Second Amendment guarantees the right of Americans to bear arms, however, some people believe that the right only applies to organized militia and not individual citizens. I would argue that the framers of the Constitution knew that the ultimate last protection for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is an armed citizenry.

As demonstrated by the complete breakdown of law and order in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the general population was completely powerless against a wave of crime. The extent of the crimes committed will probably never completely be known, however, it is known that there was no police protection, or even presence, in much of southeast Louisiana for about a week. A law-abiding citizen was, literally and figuratively, a sitting duck. Dedicated advocate for the right to bear arms, John Michael Snyder, offers this:

"Right now, our professional military is prosecuting war on foreign soil. National Guard and police forces have been working to bring order out of chaos in New Orleans and our Gulf Coast states generally. So who in this crisis guards Americans' homes and, in fact, Americans' lives, but Americans ourselves? And how can that be done against violent criminals without the presence of guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens who know how to use them?"

Precisely! When other protections disappear, Americans with guns will persevere. I believe that the framers of the Constitution had the prescience to envision a circumstance such as the aftermath of Katrina. And it is with the Second Amendment that the framers gave all Americans the protection of last resort. In some circumstances, the individual armed citizen becomes the only defense against barbarism.




Georgia: Carjacker killed: "An armed bystander shot and killed a carjacker Monday morning in Acworth, Ga., after the suspect caused an accident that killed his female victim. ... According to police, sometime after 9 a.m., 30-year-old Kimberly Boyd of Acworth stopped at a gas station at Highway 41 and Upper 92/Lake Acworth Drive in Cobb County. A man there approached Boyd and carjacked her, taking her with him. ...Traveling down the roadway, the sport-utility vehicle ultimately struck a guardrail before the carjacker tried to turn eastbound onto Lake Acworth Drive from southbound Cobb Parkway. He veered the sport-utility vehicle directly into the path of a large green cement truck traveling northbound, police said. The cement truck T-boned the Sequioa, killing the young mother when the truck struck the passenger side of her vehicle, police said. Still carrying a handgun, the carjacker fled from the SUV on foot, running toward the Raceway gas station on the northeast corner of the intersection. A man who had witnessed the carjacking and followed the Sequioa in his black 2004 Dodge Ram truck confronted the gunman in the intersection. According to police, the citizen -- identified as Shawn Roberts -- shot the suspect three times, killing him."


New Mexico: Car owner shoots thief's accomplice: "A man who drew his weapon on a suspected thief attempting to steal his pickup from in front of his house wound up shooting and critically injuring a third person. The incident happened Monday afternoon on Ricardo Road south of Belen. Deputies say a homeowner went outside and pointed a gun at the car thief and told him to get out of his truck. That's when deputies say an accomplice drove another car directly at the homeowner at a high rate of speed. 'Our calling party, our victim, turned around with his gun and fired a round into the windshield of that vehicle, striking the driver of it,' said Valencia County Sheriff's Department Spokeswoman Shannon Brady."