Commentary by Michael Swickard, Ph.D. The attacks in our society are driven by the media attention while we send our kids to schools are made intentionally defenseless by politicians who themselves are defended with guns. Our president talks about taking away the rights of citizens to defend themselves while he, himself, is protected by dozens of armed guards.
It is a terror time for people made intentionally defenseless. The Second Amendment is bantered about, but the core of the Constitution is about the rule of law and property rights. We own ourselves and therefore have a fundamental right to defend ourselves without any interference by government including the methods we use to defend ourselves. The founders of our country did not intend for us to be slain like fish in a barrel with no means of defense.
Winston Churchill had that great speech in World War Two where he said they would fight the Nazis on the beaches, in the streets, etc. It was a great speech but his country had taken all of the guns away from the population. The citizens were without weapons since their own government made them defenseless. Regardless of the way Churchill spoke, the citizens did not have any means to fight an invasion.
Years ago I awoke to a sound in the middle of the night and was confronted with my lack of ability to protect the ones I love. My duty was in the hallway with the intruder. I could not wait for the police because I could not let my daughter in her bedroom be defenseless. I was armed only with my determination, but no weapons. It was minutes until the police would arrive but I only had seconds.
Since I am writing this column obviously I survived, but not because I was defenseless. And, it was the last time I was defenseless. Now I have options if the police are minutes away but I only have seconds. That is the debate on everyone’s lips given the attacks on defenseless citizens. How do we protect the ones we love?
One debate we are not having is my duty to stop attackers so they cannot continue a life of attack. I owe it to their next potential victim to stop them. If I run from the attack, I just condemn someone else to be attacked the next time. I must stay and fight, even if I am afraid.
There are several types of attackers. One type is a possession predator who tries to not harm you as your possessions are stolen. We have obnoxious intruders that we misdiagnose as a predator. They have no intention of harming us. Likewise parasites grab for our possessions without intent to harm us. But people predators intend to harm us. They are a handful for even the police. And the mentally unbalanced add to the confusion because they may not wish you harm, but will harm you.
The single thing most likely to harm you is gun-free zones because criminals understand that there will be no citizens able to shoot back. No one can contend that gun-free zones make anyone safer. They are a political solution to a non-political problem of personal safety.
I regularly work with my weapons. I am not enamored with guns; it is just work for me to keep proficient. Many places I go do not allow me to bring my weapons of defense into their establishment. I wonder what their defense strategy is given that no one in their business legally can have a gun. Oh, criminals can have weapons since they intend to violate the law anyway. Are these places opening up themselves to lawsuit by requiring us to be defenseless?
There comes a time when you have to defend yourself and others. Will you have a fighting chance to save yours and others lives? You can only do so if our government allows you to defend yourself adequately including the use of deadly force. Otherwise each citizen in our country is like those citizens in Mexico where guns are illegal but criminals rule. They live lives of terror because they have no way to defend themselves legally, and the criminals continue to kill innocents indiscriminately.
Dr. Michael Swickard is co-host of radio talk show News New Mexico 6 to 9 a.m. Monday - Friday on a number of New Mexico radio stations and through streaming. Email: michael@swickard.com
