Mount Elden and Firearms

Mount Elden from Buffalo Park. So peaceful . . . oh, wait!

 

Apparently while I was out running at Buffalo Park the other day, a man with a knife was chasing people around on the lower slopes of Mount Elden not far away (photo taken of the mountain and at the approximate time of day). The police are searching for him, but I'm just saying, if law abiding citizens would carry a firearm while hiking then this problem would have been solved already. The police arrive after the crime has already occurred.

This scenario is an excellent example of why I believe individual citizens should have the freedom to carry firearms. Also there was that time someone broke into my house and I got into a confrontation with him. The guy was about 4 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier than me. What if the confrontation had been violent? What am I supposed to do, box with him? What if he'd had a gun?

It's a knee-jerk response to gun crime to just call for a ban, but it doesn't survive detailed ethical examination, the details being individual humans in individual scenarios. If you think the average citizen shouldn't be allowed to own and carry a firearm, then you need to take these examples into account and explain why to both of us. There isn't a moral justification for banning the ownership and carrying of firearms. It ensures law abiding citizens are outgunned by scofflaws.

At the very least, follow the principle of "first, do no harm." If you are trying to prevent other citizens from being able to protect themselves and their dependents, you need to ask yourself why. In practice, your position is the opposite of what you think it is.