Victor Davis Hanson Says a 1987 Threat Made the Second Amendment Personal

Victor Davis Hanson (VDH) became a sincere supporter of the Second Amendment in 1987. He faced down three armed gang-bangers who threatened him and his family. VDH is a world class public intellectual. He has written hundreds of newpaper editorials, articles, and book reviews. He has written or edited 24 books according to his bio at the Hoover Institution. He is an avid supporter of the Republic and President Trump. He is recovering from recent cancer surgery.

On December 6th, 2025, prominent historian, author, writer, and public intellectual Victor Davis Hanson spoke about why the Second Amendment scares Alvin Bragg. The discussion starts about 13:30 minutes into the video posted on Victor Davis Hanson and The Daily Signal. The title is Victor Davis Hanson: Why The 2nd Amendment Scares Alvin Bragg.

At about 13:30, Victor explains why the authorities in the criminal justice system in "blue" states do not want people to be able to protect themselves.  If people are able to protect themselves, they are not as dependent on the state criminal justice system. If people can protect themselves, it is not as important if the criminal justice system decides who is worthy of protection and who is not. People have a chance to protect themselves. In short, VDH tells us more power in the hands of individuals means less power in the hands of the State. VDH admonishes Alvin Bragg, and pointedly tells him this is the purpose of the Second Amendment. From the video:

 .. because as long as you are allowed to defend yourself, everything else falls in place.  You have no control over people if they have Second Amendment rights.

VDH continues to talk about the murder of Iryna Zarutska. He says no one was willing to get involved, probably because they see examples where prosecutors go after individuals who stop crimes, such as Daniel Penny in New York. Then VDH reveals a story this correspondent had not heard before. VDH seems a bit reluctant. He makes a decision. At about 17:30 into the video he relates how he used his great-grandfather's 16 gauge pump shotgun to stop an attack on his family in 1987 or 1988. He describes the shotgun as a Winchester pump in 16 gauge with an exposed hammer. This is probably a Winchester 1897 shotgun, because the earlier 1893 Winchester was not made in 16 gauge. He calls it an "1892". On well used shotguns, the 1897 can look like 1892. Later models of Winchester pump shotguns did not have exposed hammers.

Victor was sitting in his farm house, the same house as current farm house, in 1987. At 2 a.m. his eight year old son came down stairs and said someone was throwing rocks at his window and yelling. Outside Victor found three gangbangers who were armed and threatened him. Fortunately Victor was armed with his shotgun. When confronted, one armed gangbanger fell to his knees and started praying. Victor forced the gangbangers to take him to their car. He took their keys. He had them push the car about a quarter mile down the road. He threw the keys into a vineyard and told them the police were on their way.

More than 30 minutes later, the police showed up. Officially they said he should not have done what he did. Unofficially, they told him he did the right thing. Later the police department contacted him, informed him one of the three had just been released from prison, but they could not prosecute because the three denied doing anything, and they did not find any firearm.

From that day on, Victor Davis Hanson had a strong, personal understanding of the importance of the Second Amendment.  The story finishes about 20:50 on the video.

An old joke says: A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. Once a person uses rights protected by the Second Amendment to protect themselves and their loved ones, respect for the Second Amendment becomes personal.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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