Minute Man Statue Concord Massachusetts
(AmmoLand.com)- "The Second Amendment is not about hunting deer or shooting at targets in the woods. Anybody who thinks that is nuts." -- Dave Workman, by telephone, March 2020
In the U.S., common reasons for firearms possession are hunting, sport, and collection, but self-defense truly remains the main motive underlying gun possession. So it should not be surprising in this first season of the COVID-19 virus (a.k.a. Coronavirus, Wuhan Flu) that empty shelves in the markets appear at the same time as empty shelves in the gun shops. It's not that we expect to protect newly purchased rolls of toilet paper with these guns. It's because, in these uncertain days, it's comfortable to know that one can provide for one's family and also be able to protect them.
It should also not be surprising that there are many liberal, first time purchasers who suddenly understand the need for a weapon. One gun shop noted that about 75% of their customers were buying their first gun.
Asians have endured discrimination in the past and are again suffering new racial slurs. Facing unknown possibilities, many Americans of Asian origin are among those first-time gun owners who understand the benefits of a firearm. For a moment, let us view the concept of civilian firearms possession as an inverted pyramid. Why doesn't that unstable pyramid topple over onto a flat side? What holds it firmly upside down? .....
"Many gullible gun owners support greater restrictions. According to a Pew Poll, "significant shares of owners are open" to proposals for "assault weapon" bans, high capacity magazine bans, and universal gun checks. That means that some among us are willing to trade instant self-defense capability for a promise of safety made by the enemies of self-defense."