Bryan Preston: Why I’ll never disarm

Great post over at the PJ Tatler from a fellow Austinite. Especially this piece:

An armed citizenry can do at least two things. An armed citizenry can face down the threat of government tyranny. An armed citizen can also protect themselves when government is not on hand to offer protection. The first is a check on government power. The second is a check on anarchy. The first keeps the government on its leash. The second ensures that government does not have to become all-powerful. The responsible, armed, informed citizen is the lynchpin of our system.

Government cannot be everywhere, all the time, to keep law-abiding citizens safe from criminals. A government capable of protecting liberty all the time across every square inch of this vast country is a government capable of extinguishing liberty. We do not need nor do we want a government so powerful. Liberty cannot thrive if government is overly powerful.

With liberty comes responsibility. An American adult must assume many responsibilities, and among those is the responsibility to protect their loved ones, themselves, and their property from thieves. The government cannot do that for us. We should not want the government to do that for us. We should do it for ourselves. In some cases, we must, because our own government is irresponsible.

Citizens do not need anyone’s permission to protect ourselves from criminals.We certainly don’t need the permission of anyone who is part of the reason we need to defend ourselves.

Damned straight, Bryan. Good post.