|
Court upholds your right to self-defense
by Gregory R. Norfleet · Op-Ed · July 15, 2010
There was a time when most families had guns in their homes.
It was when the frontier was still wild. When families had to hunt for food. When the sheriff was too far away to stop an imminent attack.
Times have changed. Now, only about a third of U.S. homes have at least one. The need for guns has decreased.
But it is not gone.
I found it refreshing that the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to overturn Chicago’s 28-year-old gun ban and, thus, send a message that the Second Amendment does, indeed, extend to all states and cities.
Almost exactly two years ago, the Supreme Court struck down a 32-year-old gun ban in the District of Columbia. Again, the vote was 5-4.
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs and spending time in one of America’s largest cities, I was used to locking doors on cars, houses, the family business, etc. I knew friends who went hunting with their fathers, but it seemed more recreational than anything else.
So I could understand Chicago, with high crime rates, wanting to implement a gun ban. The city is scared of armed criminals. However, that has not stopped people from shooting each other. Last year, there were 461 murders in Chicago, and 379 of those people were shot to death. The year Chicago implemented the gun ban, 1982, there were 380 people killed in shootings — almost exactly the same.
When the Supreme Court’s ruling came down, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley stated that the justices “don’t seem to appreciate the full scope of gun violence in America.”
I can see Daley’s point of view. Many people associate guns with crime rather than protection. And for those who consider it a form of protection, how many of them refuse to own guns for fear their children will somehow get their hands on them?
Living for years in Southern Illinois, I knew farmers who carried guns in their pocket like they were keys or spare change. It was a tool, plain and simple, for protection against wildlife out in the country — copperheads, cottonmouths, bobcats, foxes, coyotes — animals and reptiles that are either hungry or defensive or both. A cell phone and 911 just aren’t enough out there.
Our family keeps a few weapons in the house. Thankfully, they have all grown rather dusty from lack of use. While I have been threatened from time to time, no one has actually ever tried to break into my house. And West Branch makes me feel rather safe, from our ever-watchful neighbors to our fine police department.
Nonetheless, I’m one of those “hope for the best, plan for the worst” kind of guys. I’m glad I have the right to bear arms so that I may protect my family.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
