EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a series of articles on gun rights. Each addresses a common anti-gun trope.

“OMG, Trump Won! I’m buying a gun!”

Since Trump’s electoral victory, the more hysterical among his detractors have been voicing fears that America’s going to turn into a jack-boot fascist state, with government goons rounding up Muslims, minorities, gays and anyone who doesn’t agree with His Orangeness. Or, they see his election as endorsement for rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shit-kickers and Methodists to do harm to good people. Some of these folks are so frightened, they’re actually talking about buying guns to defend themselves.

CAN I GET AN AMEN AND A HALLELUJAH!?

Yes, Virginia, that’s what the Second Amendment is all about, and it’s heartening to see people on the Left, traditionally the bastion of anti-gun sentiment, finally having a “come to Jesus” moment regarding gun rights.

Throughout history, tyrannical governments have disarmed their populaces early in their oppression. Turkey prior to the Armenian Genocide, Russia in the 1920s, China and Germany in the 1930s, Cambodia in the 1950s, Guatemala in the 1960s, Uganda in the 1970s. All these disarmaments were followed by mass slaughters. While it is certainly true that not all disarmed nations have become murderous tyrannies, consider the converse: Have we seen similar mass slaughters in nations with armed citizenries?

Obviously, many of the people who are now thinking of getting a gun for self-protection are not envisioning them as a bulwark against government tyranny. They’re thinking on a far more personal level i.e. basic self-protection. That’s another AMEN moment, of course. If we are to consider ourselves free individuals, we necessarily have the right to defend ourselves against those who would do us harm. Guns are very effective self-defense tools, and it’s good that people who traditionally see guns as evil or as something to be banned now realizing that gun ownership can be useful.

We witnessed a similar revelatory episode after the Orlando gay nightclub shooting last year. The Pink Pistols movement gained prominence afterward, as LGBT people started to realize that armed self-defense might be a Good Thing.

So, if you fear for your safety after Trump’s election and think it might be time to buy a gun, I won’t argue with you. The odds are very high that you’ll never have to use it. Even among police officers, the large majority go their entire careers without discharging their guns once. But, it is your absolute right (no matter what the government says) to defend yourself against those who would do you harm, and guns are a superb tool with which to do so.

I strongly suggest a modicum of responsibility. If you buy a gun, learn how to use it. Learn how it works. Practice with it. Learn the basics of gun safety, both in handling and in the event you might have to defend yourself or another.

The exercise of liberty is not absolution of responsibility. It is quite the opposite. As someone who carried a pistol in NY City for 18 years, I assure you, putting a pistol on your hip is a nontrivial act and changes how you interact with the world. Don’t take it likely. We gun owners don’t, no matter what your stereotypes of us tell you.

So, if you want to become one of us because you fear what a Trump presidency might bring, you will be welcomed with open arms. Even by people who are Trump supporters and by people who think your fears are grossly overwrought and unjustified. And, literally, of course. Actions open, chambers cleared, and muzzles always pointed in a safe direction.

Gun rights lesson #339: If the election of someone you dislike, distrust or fear opens your eyes to the idea of armed self-defense, good! You have the right to defend yourself, and to possess the tools with which to do so. So does everyone else.

• About the Author

About Peter Venetoklis

I am twice-retired, a former rocket engineer and a former small business owner. At the very least, it makes for interesting party conversation. I'm also a life-long libertarian, I engage in an expanse of entertainments, and I squabble for sport.

Nowadays, I spend a good bit of my time arguing politics and editing this website.

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