Heroes in Sydney

Two hostages who died in the siege in Sydney were hailed as heroes for sacrificing themselves.  It is the best that emerges in our selfless sacrifice in such moments.

But how much better would it have been if those heroes had been armed when the siege began and could have saved themselves and others through quick self-defence action?  This is where all the anti-gun rhetoric fails; when it disarms the law-abiding to make them helpless in the face of those who will never obey the law.  So it leads them to hear such stories and opine that all guns should be banned, it leads them to ask why this Muslim madman was not in jail for the many crimes with which he is accused.  It leads me to ask why could the unfortunate hostages not protect themselves, why were they disarmed?

So, yes, we end up with jerk-offs like the plant Mike the Gun Guy (give me a break) on Huffington Post, making big deals of small numbers of concealed carriers who may commit crimes (I am not as keen as he is on taking the numbers from the Violence Policy Center for granted).  Their answer - make firearms the purview of the unlawful and make the rest of us victims in waiting.

Not going to happen; Mike the Gun Guy, Vivik Murthy, Barack Obama, and anyone else can say as they will; They can choose to be defenseless if they like, but not for me.  I will never give up my right to defend myself with all the force necessary as I see fit.  I will not be held on my knees in a coffee shop by a Muslim adman.