Armed citizen

As a follow-up to my article, 'The Armed and the Dangerous: who are they really?', I would simply like to show two interesting figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In all recorded journalist murder cases since 1992:

• Government officials were the suspected source of fire 71% of the time
• The overwhelming majority of victims covered politics (61%) and corruption (41%)

So, whenever we hear from politicians and journalists who support anti-gun legislation, we should ask them, who are the real armed and dangerous groups in our society?

Cracking down on civilian firearms ownership will not solve the problem of violent crime in the Philippines. If politicians are serious about tackling this issue, they should be looking elsewhere.

In an article entitled 'Armed and dangerous: more civilians own guns than military, police,' Gemma Mendoza of Newsbreak.ph published some quite sensational statistics about weapons in the hands of civilians.

She cites cases of Gerardo Ortega, Venson Evangelista and Emerson Lozano, all who were victims of firearms-related crime. The article then goes on to quote figures about gun ownership, weapon types, and approved licenses. It was all obviously calculated to cause outrage and lead readers to the conclusion that legal firearms owners are the danger to Philippine society.

O pano, nakumbinsi mo na si commander na bibili ka ng toy? You've finally secured your first carry firearm and raring to go out and play? HUWAG MUNA!

Preparing to Break-in Your Life Preserving Toy:

1. Immediate things to buy:

Kala mo tapos na gastos mo nung nabili mo na FA mo? Malabo, nag-uumpisa pa lang ang paghihirap mo, marami ka pang miryendang palalampasin at malamig na beer na iiwasan; uminom ka man sa labas, wag ka munang magte-table ... marami ka pang dapat bilhin bro.

Huwag ka namang bili ng bili, may mga mahalagang dapat bilhin agad at mayroong dapat timbangin muna kung kailangan mo nga ba talaga. So anong dapat bilhin?

You've never own a firearm but now your considering investing in one for the primary purpose of defending yourself and your family.  Going through life, each day you become more concerned, fearing that the poverty and the violence of criminality that it stokes like wind to fire might catch up you.  Looking at your wife and children, you make a decision that BGs' must go through hell if they think they victimize you to the detriment of your family's future.  Not only do you decide to buy a gun, you've resolved to carry daily.

First task at hand is choosing the appropriate gun.  There's a wide selection to chose from; the affordable Chinese clones to the perfect out of the box masterpiece every gun enthusiast dreams of owning.  How do you decide what's right for you?

"Happiness is a Worn Gun - My Concealed Weapon and Me"
Dan Baum, Harper's Magazine, August 2010

Here's an even-handed treatment of the concealed carry lifestyle that appears in Harper's Magazine, August 2010. The author, Dan Baum, writes about his experience with moving from the use of firearms as a hunting hobby to self-defense.

It is a long but rewarding read, ideal for when you have spare time to sit-back and reflect while drinking a coffee. Dan Baum takes a reasoned, introspective look at his own motivations, as well as those of firearms advocates and anti-gunners. You many not like all of the conclusions he draws, but his points are fair and balanced.

Happiness is a Worn Gun by Dan Baum, Harper's Magazine August 2010" (PDF download).

"The judicial system must never take the right away from citizens to bear arms and defend themselves, but they should cause citizens to be more responsible when evoking that right." - Lance Thomas

On a summer night in 1963, a young girl named Kitty Genovese was stabbed and beaten to death on a residential street in New York City while 200 bystanders stood by and watched. They did nothing. This incident sparked an outrage in the U.S. and the public immediately had an outcry against people who "did not want to get inolved."

Were these bystanders really cold and callous and uncaring? Or were they, average New Yorkers, just being street smart?

Our PNP claims that in the Philippine public are clamoring for increased gun control. It seems that the complete opposite is happening in the US: the tide of sympathy is turning in favor of gun ownership as more Americans realize that they do not need to become victims of crime.

Here are two stories, one of a father who fought off three armed robbers, and one of an 80-year-old man who used an illegal firearm to protect his family. As you can see, support is clearly on the gun owners' side.

Let's skip the pretense that limiting gun ownership rights will do anything to protect people from crime. We should learn from experience in other countries. The case studies and numbers all point in the same direction—that citizens must play an active part in reducing crime, and sometimes that means bearing arms.

Erik Espina from the Manila Bulletin reminds us that we should look at the real motives behind gun control:

"When presidents begin to disallow ownership or the carrying of its own citizens of the means to protect themselves; when governments begin suspecting its own citizens as part of the peril to law & order, because they are registered/legal holders or carriers of guns, then it is time for the sovereign people to be suspicious of the motives of such prohibition."

Read the full article in Manila Bulletin: Permit to carry, first defense.

All firearms owners and enthusiasts should watch this 9 minute video about the international effort to ban guns. It is US-focused but the points also apply to the Philippines. Remember, despite claims from the anti-gun groups, banning guns will not make the world safer for the average person. It will only make a safer world for tyrannical governments and for criminals.