“In real life, though, their proposals mean that innocent citizens are left defenseless, trying to reconcile the bleak facts that the police cannot dependably be relied upon for help, and that violent criminals will continue to defy gun laws with impunity.”
A standard talking point of gun prohibitionists is that in these modern times, ordinary people don’t need their own firearms because the police will protect them from criminals. Last year, no less than David Chipman, President Biden’s failed nominee to lead the ATF– employed then as as a senior policy advisor for the Giffords anti-gun group – mocked first-time gun owners as delusional because the “zombies” weren’t about to attack.
That argument, specious at best, is even less compelling now, when law enforcement resources are stretched to the breaking point and beyond due to the combined impact of factors like “defund the police,” a sharp rise in violent crime, and, in many jurisdictions, employee vaccine mandates that have resulted in thousands of first responders resigning, being placed on unpaid leave or fired.
A case in point is the ultra-woke city of Portland, Oregon.
