{"id":159414,"date":"2022-02-07T18:41:41","date_gmt":"2022-02-07T23:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=159414"},"modified":"2022-02-07T18:41:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T03:04:47","slug":"la-times-op-ed-thinking-of-buying-a-gun-for-self-defense-dont-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/la-times-op-ed-thinking-of-buying-a-gun-for-self-defense-dont-do-it\/","title":{"rendered":"LA Times Op-Ed: ‘Thinking of Buying a Gun for Self-Defense. Don’t Do It’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"LA
(Photo: Screengrab LA TImes<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Larry Keane<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Californians had a decision to make as they endure a two-year span of increased criminal violence, pushes to throttle law enforcement\u2019s ability to protect communities and prosecutors going soft on criminals. They could choose to lawfully purchase a firearm to protect themselves or be a victim. They choose the former.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s got gun control peddlers worried. An opinion column in The Los Angeles Times <\/em>pleaded with readers, \u201cThinking of buying a gun for self-defense? Don\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Californians instead took up their Second Amendment rights. They weren\u2019t alone either as millions of law-abiding Americans from coast-to-coast purchased a firearm last year, including more than 5.4 million<\/strong><\/a> first-timers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pleading Their Case<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The Los Angeles Times<\/em>\u2019 opinion writers have had their heads buried on California\u2019s beaches. Californians on the other hand have been feeling unsafe. The Los Angeles City Council\u00a0cut $150 million<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0from the police department budget in the aftermath of riots that followed the murder of George Floyd. A police shortage, including $47 million in owed backpay for overtime, has left criminals emboldened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That led to a short-staffed LAPD issuing an unthinkable warning to city residents: if you\u2019re the victim of a crime, just \u201ccooperate and comply<\/strong><\/a>.\u201d The\u00a0LA Times<\/em>-endorsed<\/strong><\/a>, George Soros-funded County District Attorney George Gascon has been on the receiving end of public outcry, and a recall effort, for his continued\u00a0soft treatment<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of violent criminals, including murderers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Criminals noticed. In 2021, Los Angeles saw a\u00a012 percent<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0year-over-year increase in murders. Violent crimes and property crimes were both up\u00a04<\/strong>\u00a0percent<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0The Los Angeles Times <\/em>opinion page, instead of condemning the crime, clung to fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChoosing to have a gun in your home, because it will keep you safe, is a myth. And a deadly one at that.\u201d The column urged readers to practice \u201ccommon sense\u201d and \u201csafety,\u201d stating, \u201cBe responsible and be wise. Don\u2019t buy into the myth of owning a gun for self-defense. The life you save may be your own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resounding Rejection<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Law-abiding Californians are tuning out \u201cbe a good victim\u201d advice and instead are choosing lawful firearm ownership. In 2021, nearly 1.5 million<\/strong><\/a> verifications were run through the FBI\u2019s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for Californians purchasing a firearm. The year before the figure was even higher at 1.6 million<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The owner of the only Los Angeles firearm retail store said business was booming and he wasn\u2019t surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis morning I sold six shotguns in about an hour to people that say, \u2018I want a home defense shotgun,\u2019\u201d Russell Stuart said<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cEveryone has a general sense of constant fear, which is very sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debbie Mizrahie lives in Beverly Hills and described<\/a><\/strong> why she chose to purchase a gun. She\u2019s \u201calways been anti-gun\u201d but changed her mind. She wanted to, \u201cget myself shooting lessons because I now understand that there may be a need for me to know how to defend myself and my family. We\u2019re living in fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geneva Solomon owns Redstone Firearms in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Burbank. Her firsthand experiences contradict the \u201cadvice\u201d and \u201cdata\u201d from the Los Angeles Times<\/em> opinion page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYears ago a gentleman was charged with home invasion on my home. He forced his way into my home and I walked downstairs with a gun,\u201d Solomon described<\/a>.<\/strong> \u201cI believe that my firearm deescalated what could have happened if he felt we were unarmed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solomon encourages all gun owners new and old in her store to seek more training and education to be confident and safe gun owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Movement<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Californians buying firearms aren\u2019t outliers. They are part of a larger firearm-owning community that\u2019s growing by the day. NSSF retailer survey data from 2021 revealed more than 5.4 million<\/strong><\/a> law-abiding Americans purchased a firearm for the first time. That\u2019s on top of the more than 8.4 million<\/a><\/strong> in 2020. It\u2019s not just white males stockpiling guns either, as the media and national gun control groups often portray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women accounted for more than 33 percent<\/a><\/strong> of first-time buyers in 2021, only slightly lower than the 40 percent from 2020. A full 44 percent<\/strong><\/a> of retailers saw an increase of African-Americans purchasing firearms in 2021; nearly 40 percent<\/strong><\/a> of retailers saw an increase of Hispanic-American buyers and over 27 percent<\/strong><\/a> of retailers saw an increase of Asian-American buyers. On top of purchasing their first firearm, buyers were looking for training. Retailers said that almost 47 percent<\/a><\/strong> of first-time buyers inquired about training and education courses and more than 43 percent<\/strong><\/a> of them signed up for classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Americans from all walks of life, including Californians, aren\u2019t listening to the fear and loathing from newspaper opinion pages. They\u2019re thinking, and acting, for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larry Keane\u00a0<\/strong>is Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and General Counsel for the\u00a0National Shooting Sports Foundation<\/a>, the firearms industry trade association.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

***Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a>***<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Times\u2019 opinion writers have had their heads buried on California\u2019s beaches. Californians on the other hand have been feeling unsafe. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":159416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1803,240],"tags":[132,586,122],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-159414","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news-wire","8":"category-this-week","9":"tag-buzz","10":"tag-column","11":"tag-r2kba"},"yoast_head":"\nLA Times Op-Ed: 'Thinking of Buying a Gun for Self-Defense. Don't Do It'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The LA Times\u2019 opinion writers have had their heads buried on California\u2019s beaches. 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