A Stark Example

There are two areas.  One is a city, the other is considerably larger.  One is, and has been for decades, controlled by Democrats and has a very strict gun control scheme.  The other is an active war zone.  One has had 4 deaths this year, the other has had 40, just from gun-shots.  What are we talking about?  Afghanistan and Chicago, IL.  But which is which?

Chicago, home of our Gun Grabbing President, and his ballerina ex-adviser (who happens to be mayor now), has had 40 gun related murders, despite having one of the most strict gun control schemes in the country.  Afghanistan has seen only 4 US servicemen die this year.  Which of those sounds like an active war zone?

Of course, the difference is that Afghanistan is an active war zone.  US Soldiers carry weapons with them all the time.  They have the means, as well as the right, to protect themselves from violence.  If you even look like a threat, a US Soldier will treat you as one.  Given the means to do so, they are very good at making sure the ones dying are the bad guys.

Contrariwise, the only people with guns in Chicago are the bad guys.  Citizens of Chicago have virtually no ability to defend themselves from violence.  This weekend alone there were 7 gun-related deaths, and 6 more injuries, in Chicago.

But SCOAMT and his ilk think that Chicago is a model for the rest of the country.

Now, I already hear some of you say "but US Soldiers receive extensive training!"  Indeed they do.  However, the strict use of their weapon doesn't receive a whole lot of training.  Practice, yes.  Training, no.  They're taught myriad things, from weapon use, maintenance, and discipline, to the US Army field guide (I'm told they're supposed to memorize it), to battle discipline, and even tactics and strategy.  And that's just in Basic Training.

Those things are designed to let them fight wars.  A simple gun owner, carrying a weapon for his own protection "just in case," doesn't need "extensive training."  He (or she) needs to know how to use his weapon, how to clean and maintain it, and discipline ideas from where to point it, when to touch (let alone squeeze) the trigger, and (just as importantly) when not to pull it out, let alone aiming it at someone/something or touching the trigger.

That doesn't take that long to learn.  Most people can pick it up very quickly.  If you don't think you can, you have two options- elect not to carry yourself (if gun controls are loose enough, one of your neighbors will have a weapon and probably be willing to defend you), or take classes that let you pick it up anyway.  You can even find tactical training programs for civilians. 

Whatever the case, though, any supposed dangers have got to be better odds than simply living in Chicago with its current murder rate.  When an active war zone is safer (because self defense is not only allowed, but facilitated) than a major US city, I think it's fairly obvious that further restricting gun ownership is not the answer to make us safer.