Forbes Article: To Protect The Innocent, We Need More Guns In The Hands Of Honest People

from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/12/26/to-protect-the-innocent-we-need-more-guns-in-the-hands-of-honest-people/

By Andrew Bernstein

The increased call for gun control after the Newtown, Connecticut atrocity is as mistaken as it is predictable.

Morally, it is the inalienable right of honest men and women to own guns for any reason they choose— hunting, collecting, and above all, self-defense. In a free society, based on the principle of inalienable individual rights, the state must not be granted the power to violate the rights of honest individuals.

Practically, empirical data and a modicum of reasoning combine to show that increased gun ownership by honest persons—not the converse—is the means to protect innocent lives.

First: it is impossible—not difficult, but impossible—to prevent criminals from procuring weapons. For example, cities with stringent handgun bans—New York, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, DC—suffer from high rates of handgun crimes.

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