Star Wars Conspiracy: Does Fear Cost Us Our Liberty?

Jacob Sullum: "Autonomous Terrorism Calls for Autonomous Defense"

Columnist Jacob Sullum had an excellent article at reason.com about how armed citizens are a logical defense against the type of diffused terrorist attacks we're seeing.  Writes Sullum:


"There is not much the government can do about the sort of terrorist threat that President Obama described in his speech on Sunday. It will always be difficult to stop self-radicalized jihadists, operating under no one's instructions, from carrying out attacks on soft targets too scattered and numerous to secure.


"The only viable alternative, self-help, is one that Obama seems ideologically incapable of considering. His proposals for new restrictions on firearms move in the opposite direction, based on the assumption that the problem is too many guns in too many hands.


"Gun control supporters generally dismiss the notion that armed citizens can help stop terrorists and other mass shooters. They argue that unbadged amateurs will be frozen by fear, that they will accidentally shoot innocent people, or that police will mistake them for bad guys.


"These possibilities do not negate the lifesaving potential of encouraging greater self-reliance in situations where waiting for police to arrive means waiting for coldblooded murderers to kill and kill again. We know from experience that intervention by people already at the scene can make a crucial difference."


Read the entire article HERE.