The Government does not exist to serve you. While individual employees are more than willing to help you, mostly the State exists to preserve its power.
I was “triggered” (sorry) to write after reading Mr. Caldwell’s Daily Sun piece on gun sales (March 28).
The reasons for the spike are not as ambiguous as Mr. Caldwell suggests. It’s related, to some degree, why people are stocking up on foodstuffs. We have been told for a few weeks to prepare to stay home for 2 weeks to 3 months to who knows how long.
There will always be people who overreact to their perception of events. Can’t be helped, Jack. Still, when you don’t have faith in the government to supply your basic needs, you lean toward overstocking.
I have noticed that the supply chains for grocery items are still working. It seems like many people in this area have noticed as well. There are products on the shelves.
People who have experienced a lack of access to supplies (like during the Blizzard of 1978) are probably more prepared to weather a period of reduced supplies and resources.
So, why the increase in gun and ammunition sales? People don’t have faith in the police to be able to respond to their emergency in a timely manner.
I’m not going to dwell on the new big-city police not responding to what they call minor crimes. I’m looking at the Lakes Region where I live. The exposure to Gilford and Laconia officers has been 180 degrees from my experiences where I came from. There isn’t the “us versus them” vibe around here. I have no doubt that, should I call for assistance, area police will actually respond and help to the best of their ability.
The real issue is: will they respond in time?
I once watched the Chicago superintendent note that the CPD response time is 4-5 minutes. If you are being beaten with a crowbar, 4 minutes feels like a long time.
Other buyers have a darker outlook for the near future. They wonder whether people that have lost their jobs will look to take from people who have not. Losing one’s job, especially if you are the primary breadwinner, can be devastating. Desperate people take desperate actions.
Additionally, as counterintuitive as it seems, the police have no duty to protect you as an individual.
Since back in 1976, courts have ruled that way about 14 times. Having a firearm with which to defend your family is like having a fire extinguisher in your home: it is a tool that can be used until the professionals get there.
The rush to buy now is possibly related to the efforts by various authorities to curtail that Right: the CA governor ordering gun shops closed. The RI governor extending the 3-day waiting period to 30 days. The NJ governor ordering shops closed and shutting off the state’s online check system (private transfers are illegal in NJ). Police departments in MA, not processing license applications. I’m glad that Governor Sununu declared that firearm shops in NH are essential businesses.
As The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said: a Right Delayed is a Right Denied. The Right of self-defense existed before there was writing. As unsettling as it may be, you really are responsible for your own safety.
by Rick Notkin
