It stands to reason that if someone is attempting to kill you and you have a loaded gun, you will use it to stop the lethal attack. Right? Well, maybe.

When a new Magic Bullet is launched and makes media waves, I always apply two filters as to whether it’s worth chasing down. The first filter is “Are the police using this?”

While I can’t necessarily translate my unscientific study to the nation as a whole, I’d have to estimate that at least 80 to 90 percent of the permit holders that I know personally don’t carry regularly or even carry at all. The question is, “Why?”

I should not have to say this, but just because someone “doesn’t look right” and is carrying a weapon doesn’t mean you are about to be assaulted or that he is an armed robber.

“How many mass-murder atrocities must we endure before the message finally sinks in,” asked Alan Korwin, an award-winning author and consultant to JPFO. “People must understand that the same guns police use to protect you can be used to protect yourself,” Korwin said, echoing the comments made by president Trump, who was attacked for making this common-sense observation. Jews are often hoplophobic or otherwise reluctant to bear arms, leading to deadly results.

At the time these events happened, I considered myself to be well-prepared — maybe over-prepared — in the area of personal self-defense. (I am retired military and a former police officer.) I foolishly thought I was smart enough to be able to keep a criminal from getting the best of me. I was wrong.

The Pacific Northwest and Seattle, in particular, is a hotbed of snowflake triggering activity. It was therefore with some surprise that recently (end of July) a firearms convention actually called TriggrCon was held so close to the Emerald City. Bellevue, Washington, a mere 10 miles from the Seattle Space Needle, hosted this event for the third consecutive year. Manufacturers displayed their wares in booths as well as at the range as has become the custom with such shows.

Hopefully, we can put the claims of “Trump Slump” and of the demise of the firearms industry to rest along with the year 2017.

Unlike restrictions on semi-automatic rifles or magazine capacity, Fix NICS is not a “gun control” measure, no matter how some opportunistic co-sponsors on that side of the gun debate may choose to characterize the bill.