August 1, 2013

After Zimmerman: Lessons for a Citizen Carrier

By Paul Jacobson
Shortly after the Sandy Hook one Elementary School massacre in December 2012, I took to these pages to gently chide the NRA's Wayne LaPierre for his proposal to install an armed policeman in every school. Instead I suggested it would be more effective to permit armed teachers and school personnel, carefully screened and trained, to fulfill this role. The article outlined three principles to optimize the deterrent value of a societal gun presence: pervasiveness, anonymity, and publicity. The article also pointed out (hat-tip John Lott) that all citizens, not just those who are armed, benefit from the crime deterrence created by law-abiding gun owners. This got me thinking about my own status. There I was, benefiting from all my gun-owning neighbors who helped create the safe neighborhood where I'm fortunate to reside. At that point I made a personal decision to cease being a parasite and become instead a producer. Thus began a very steep learning curve to train and equip myself over...(Read Full Article)