By José Niño
Disregarding the mainstream media is generally a healthy thing to do when discussing gun policy. To journalists and the commentariat, the idea of having a firearm is unfathomable. After all, aren’t guns only really used by mass shooters and common criminals?
Not quite.
Cinncinati.com details a recent defensive gun use.
A 29-year-old man, David Whitford, attempted to burglarize a Hebron, Kentucky home in the middle of the afternoon recently. Little did the assailant know that a law-abiding gun owner was home and armed.
From the Boone County Sheriff’s Facebook page:
Upon further investigation it was learned that Whitford was attempting to force entry into a residence on River Road and was confronted by the homeowner who was armed with a handgun. As Whitford fled the area on foot towards the riverbank the homeowner fired several warning shots. The homeowner searched for Whitford and located him on his property, bedded down in a wooded area. The homeowner then fired several more warning shots in close proximity to Whitford, grabbed him and a physical struggle ensued between the two. As a result of the struggle, Whitford sustained head and facial injuries and was transported to St. Elizabeth in Florence. He has since been released. The homeowner refused medical treatment while on scene.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they found the homeowner restraining Whitford who now resides in the Boone County Detention Center, charged with second-degree burglary.
While firing warning shots is legally questionable and could result in charges against the homeowner, it was effective in this case. Chalk this up as another successful defensive gun use.
Estimates of the number of defensive gun uses in the US every year range from about 500,000 to almost three million, depending on who’s doing the counting. Gary Kleck’s latest number of 1.1 million based on updated CDC data seems a reasonable compromise.
Many cases like the one in Hebron, Kentucky take place on a daily basis. Incidents of guns used in self-defense don’t always end in a uniform fashion. Most never involve pulling a trigger. Whatever the details, these cases demonstrate the many reasons millions of law-abiding Americans carry a firearm every day.
An armed individual is the best first responder when faced with an immediate threat. Law enforcement has a place in an orderly society, but it cannot be relied upon to arrive in time to save the day. That’s why Americans secure their persons and property by arming themselves. You never know what the elements will throw at you on any given day.
Some local media outlets manage to do their job (even in an era of fake news) and cover such cases of self-defense. Just don’t expect a subsequent op-ed extolling the virtues of Second Amendment freedoms.
That’s why alternative media outlets are crucial telling the whole story of guns in America, including the defensive uses that far outnumber those of criminals.
José Niño is a Venezuelan American freelance writer. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him here. Get his e-book The 10 Myths of Gun Control here.
