(RightWing.org) – Over the last two years, America has been debating two significant and related issues: should there be less police, and what are the limits of gun ownership? After major far-left cities across America cut police departments by billions of dollars, violent crime escalated. Between January 2020 and April 20, 2021, 7.5 million Americans bought their first gun.
On late Monday, April 11, in Houston, Texas, a 65-year-old woman faced a violent criminal targeting her home. An intruder posing as a home health worker tried to persuade the woman to let him enter her home. When she refused, the man broke open the door just as her son arrived. He immediately opened fire and killed the intruder.
Self Defense Measures on the Rise
The neighborhood where the violent intrusion occurred is full of retirees and is normally quiet. Detectives said it appears the man randomly chose the house and concluded the woman’s son acted in self-defense. It’s an issue that is growing. The question is, is it because there is a smaller police force or there’s more crime?
On September 27, 2021, the FBI released its Uniform Crime Report for 2020. It showed that America was in the grip of a major wave of violence. It stated that nationally, murder rates rose 30% to the largest on record. Per 100,000 people, there were approximately 21,500 murders. Aggravated assaults rose 12%.
The weapon of choice by violent criminals was a gun.
Guns or No Guns for Citizens?
While the Left cut police, it also continued to push for more controls. Conservatives argue that the Left wants to handicap responsible citizens while allowing criminals to roam freely to do their thing. In addition, they also say that the one thing that’s capable of stopping a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. It would seem the circumstances in the Houston story would bear that out.
A 2013 study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine showed that Americans defended themselves with a gun between 500,000 and 3 million times per year. The study said “self-defense can be an important deterrent” to criminal activity. It added that the defensive use of guns lowered injury rates among crime victims compared to those who did not have a gun.
In November, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard a case about a handgun licensing law in New York that said to carry a gun, one must be able to prove they are under threat to justify it. The court appeared to be leaning against that view. Justice Samuel Alito asked how the rule was consistent with the core right to self-defense protected by the Second Amendment. The SCOTUS will rule sometime before the current term ends in late June or early July.
So, the question is, if there are fewer police officers and Biden continues his push to strip people of their Second Amendment rights — will America continue to see an uptick in gun sales and self-defense interactions with the bad guys?
Stay tuned.
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