Israel has gun handouts, while the U.S. has gun buy backs⁉️ “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State….” pic.twitter.com/XLcV8EMUbJ
— AmmoLand News (@AmmoLand) October 31, 2023
A recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows Israeli officials handing out what appear to be M-4 or similar versions of the American M-16 type rifle to non-uniformed Israelis. Israel suffered thousands of casualties in the October 7 raid/invasion and massacres conducted by Hamas. The raid showed how vulnerable a disarmed population is against lightly armed and armored adversaries. The Israeli government had long practiced a staple of socialist regimes: disarm the population to enforce a doctrine of a monopoly of force by the government.
Disarming the population renders them vulnerable to the types of raids conducted by Hamas or to mass murder in gun-free zones, such as seen in the United States, France, Russia, and all over the globe.
If there are locally armed populations, they can reduce casualties tremendously through armed defense. Their capability is multiplied if they are backed up by quick response forces, either military or police.
At the time of the successful Hamas raid into Israel, less than 2% of the Israeli population had access to small arms. It has been reported that 148,000 Israelis had permits to carry. The population of Israel has been reported at 9.7 million. 148,000 Israelis are 1.5% of the Israeli population.
This is the harrowing story of Miki, a father from southern Israel , who singlehandedly defeated over 10 Hamas terrorists who hunted him and his family in their home during the October 7th massacre.
I hope that I find the same courage, strength, and composure he did if I’m… pic.twitter.com/hbnhvaV2cG
— Owen Savir (@osavir) October 27, 2023
In one account posted on X, an Israeli special forces officer, who was allowed to have a Glock 19 and some spare magazines in his home, killed 10-14 Hamas attackers. Many, many of the other members of his kibbutz were killed or taken hostage. At about 10:18 minutes into the video, his wife says:
My husband is a big hero. He’s a big hero and we’re lucky. It’s hard for me to say it. Because Many of the homes, many of the families, they didn’t have a gun or a weapon with which to protect themselves.
We were lucky. Maybe a little destiny. Maybe some providence. I’m not religious, but maybe.
According to research done by John Lott, 94% of mass public murders are committed in gun-free zones. Because of significant information/intelligence gathering by Hamas, the Hamas raiders knew just what to expect where they were raiding, down to who did or did not own what kind of dog. The intelligence gathering by Hamas gave them the equivalent of a map of “gun-free” zones. It is unlikely the Hamas gambit will be allowed to work in the near future, though it is a historically common one. Israel has learned an important lesson in reality.
When someone repeatedly says they want to kill you, take them at their word.
Those pushing to disarm populations claim disarmed populations are safer than armed populations. Historically, disarmed populations do not last long. They are conquered, looted, the women raped and subjugated, others sold into slavery. If there is a strong, armed protector, disarmed people can live in peace. They are at the mercy of the armed “protector.” Limits on government power, such as the Second Amendment, are designed to limit the damage out-of-control armed “protectors” can do. Historically, they are capable of enormous damage.
The push for gun turn-in events, “buybacks,” is in stark contrast to the Israeli officials handing out small arms to citizen protectors.
Proponents of gun turn-in events claim the “buyback” might prevent a suicide or accident. Academic studies do not support this claim. Those likely to turn guns in are unlikely candidates for crime, accidents, or suicides. If guns are not available to commit suicide, other lethal methods are easily substituted. In Australia, popular substitutes were hanging and single-vehicle crashes, instruments easily available in modern society.
Gun turn-in events, often designated by the Orwellian term “buyback,” are based on the premise removing a few guns from society might do some good. Evidence indicates that “buybacks” may do some harm. The major effect is to send a message: Guns are bad. Turn them in. At many gun turn-in events, private buyers send the opposite message: Guns are valuable. I pay cash.
The premise of gun “buybacks” is guns are bad. More guns, more bad. The Hamas raid, the Israeli casualties, and mass murder in gunfree zones in the USA show guns are often necessary as a means of defense. Guns are often used for good. The state cannot have its armed agents everywhere to defend you. The state may become your enemy. There are people in the world who want to murder, steal, and rape. It is the basic human condition.
The policy that has lately been followed by the United States and Israel to a lesser extent is: if we treat those who want to kill us well and make clear there are economic advantages to peaceful coexistence, those who want to kill us will learn to coexist. This is not a viable lesson from history. The same ideology claims weapons drive wars. The claim is if people get rid of weapons, wars (or interpersonal violence) will cease or at least be significantly reduced. It is a false claim.
Economics is not the only, or even the most significant, motivator in human affairs. For the past 150 years, non-economic motivators have been much more important.
Weapons do not create desires to murder, steal, and rape. As is so often the case, leftists reverse the arrow of causality. The human desire to murder, steal, and rape creates the need for humans to have weapons for defense.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Millions of new firearm owners have come about in the US. In the last 15 years or so. But there are still more that need to join the crowd.
Israeli authorities will let up a bit on allowing civilian gun ownership, resulting from the recent terror assaults. But the nation will never institute shall issue, despite a population with a high percentage of military training. As a “democracy”, they would have to apply gun laws equally to all citizens , Arabs, as well as Jews. Therein is the rub. Like it or not, there is a marked distrust of the Arab minority, especially the ones with family and political ties to the Arabs of the West Bank (Judea-Samaria) and elsewhere across the borders. It’s bad enough, terrorists have there… Read more »
those who turn their swords into plowshares, plow for people who kept their swords.
not enough people are going to learn that civilian disarmament is dangerous and makes us less secure and safe as a people.
Some in Israel have learned it the hard way unfortunately not enough people are learning this lesson.
i wonder why, if there are “no questions asked” is there so much paperwork tagged on the guns.
When your government tells you to look a certain direction, that is how you know you are getting scammed.
People who have gotten rid of their firearms, have made a choice. They are now the lame retarded antelopes of the herd. Making them an easy target for the wolves. Making for a stronger herd. As long as the rest of the herd is prepared to fight off the wolves.