Over at the Atlantic, Megan McArdle ponders:
So if Heller, as libertarians devoutly hope, legalizes gun ownership in DC, the question immediately arises for those of us who live here: buy one, or not? On the one hand, they are expensive, and shooting ranges far away. On the other hand, I live alone in an apartment that is something less than amply fortified. On the third hand, I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t handle a gun when I’m sleepy.
First of all, as one of her commenters noted, it’s not “the third hand”, it’s “the gripping hand“.
Beyond that, the short answer is, “Of course!”
And to answer Megan’s objections, perfectly acceptable home defense guns start at about $150; excellent choices can be had for around $500. That’s pretty cheap insurance.
And if you can’t deal with a firearm when sleepy, how will you deal with a rapist who will not accept “lemme go back to sleep” as an answer?
Click for the long answer: Show ▼
Megan, I believe that every free citizen should be armed. It only incidentally has to do with fending off thugs, crack-headed or jack-booted; it has little to do with statistics; and Mary Rosh (I see what you did there! So clever!), it has not a thing to do with
confusing guns and penises.
It has to do with accepting personal responsibility for your life. Period. Eric S. Raymond, in his crucial essay, “Ethics from the Barrel of a Gun“, outlines the key lessons of being armed:
- It all comes down to you.
- Never count on being able to undo your choices.
- The universe doesn’t care about motives.
- Right choices are possible, and the ordinary judgment of ordinary (wo)men is sufficient to make them.
He expands on these points, then continues:
The Founding Fathers of the United States believed, and wrote, that the bearing of arms was essential to the character and dignity of a free people. For this reason, they wrote a Second Amendment in the Bill Of Rights which reads “the right to bear arms shall not be infringed”.
…Thomas Jefferson’s question, posed in his inaugural address of 1801, still stings. If a man cannot be trusted with the government of himself, how can he be trusted with the government of others?
…
Too many of us have come to believe ourselves incapable of this discipline [of responsibly arming ourselves]. We fall prey to the sick belief that we are all psychopaths or incompetents under the skin. We have been taught to imagine ourselves armed only as villains….
But it’s not so. To believe this is to ignore the actual statistics and generative patterns of weapons crimes….
To believe one is incompetent to bear arms is, therefore, to live in corroding and almost always needless fear of the self — in fact, to affirm oneself a moral coward. A state further from “the dignity of a free man” would be rather hard to imagine. It is as a way of exorcising this demon, of reclaiming for ourselves the dignity and courage and ethical self-confidence of free (wo)men that the bearing of personal arms, is, ultimately, most important.
Everyone, please: read the whole thing, then come back and talk to us. You may still choose not to arm yourself, but if you want us to take you seriously, you must be able to answer Raymond before criticizing our choice to arm ourselves.
I have pointers to this and other essays for those considering arming themselves here.
On the practicalities:
- Even if Heller goes against D.C., there will still be a long, hard time before D.C. police and other agents acting locally become accustomed to honest citizens being armed, even in their own homes. Prepare yourself for a very high level of official suspicion and hostility. Right now, the only people they see with guns are themselves and the goblins. You will have to do your part to make being armed honorable and normal again. And, of course, Heller is merely the first crack in the formidable legal wall against exercising your Second Amendment right.
- As a corollary, until new case law is established, you will literally not be able to predict, before you are arrested and appear in court, what is legal and what is not. This is one of the huge problems with allowing broad legal restrictions on a fundamental right.
- Frankly, I don’t care what the decision is, as far as my own behavior goes. The 2nd only protects a right you have always had. The Constitution does not grant us privileges; it only tells the Government what it may and may not do. It’s time and past the Government remembered that.
- I heartily concur with the advice above that before you arm yourself for self defense, you must mentally and emotionally prepare yourself to kill. Decide now when you will and will not kill–deciding at three a.m. when you hear your door getting kicked in is a recipe for guilt and self-loathing.
- Is your DVD player worth a life? The goblin thinks it is–your life, to be specific. He set the rules of engagement the instant he entered your home. Fight by his rules, or lose. Remember, “losing”, here, could mean being raped, tortured, or murdered.
I’ve edited out my comments on what firearm to buy; others have already made my points. I do strongly encourage you to take a basic firearms course and try several different kinds before making your selection. And, of course, you can always buy more than one. Many folks think every household should have at least a handgun, a shottie, and a rifle. And some would not include a .22 as the rifle–those should be as unremarkable as screwdrivers and hammers, and .22 ammo as plentiful as sugar and flour.
Welcome to freedom and responsibility, Megan. And remember:
“America keeps her freedom in five boxes: Soap, ballot, jury, witness, cartridge. Use in that order.”
In a separate comment, I also responded to some of her commenters:
TW said: “Don’t buy a gun just because you can.”
In my mind, “Just because I can” is a fine reason to buy a gun. You do not need any reason or excuse to exercise a right, particularly one protected by the Constitution.
Oh, absolutely, as I’ve said in an earlier reply which appears to be still pending, take lessons and think hard about how you will use the thing.
However, do not let the training process daunt you. We’re talking about a couple of hours of classroom instruction and a couple of hours on the range, at most. You probably spent more time learning the far more complex task of driving.
And with no training or introspection at all, I trust you — Yes, YOU, Citizen! — with a gun far more than I trust the government with so much as a paperclip. A file cabinet is a far more dangerous weapon than any bomb.
Owning a gun is the only way to truly understand the rights and responsibilities appertaining thereto. Buying a gun is the best way of learning just how radically that right has been infringed.
Buy the gun, Megan. Join the free
Several folks recommended she get a dog. Well, yes, a dog is a fine companion and a pretty good goblin alarm. Do not, however, delegate your security to a critter who can be bribed with a piece of steak or a belly rub, or who can be repeatedly tricked into chasing after a ball that was, in fact, never thrown.
What is the deal with thinking that dogs can be trusted with life and death decisions but humans cannot?