Reader Paul S. writes:
I’m an American currently on vacation in Europe watching news of yet another Islamist radical trying to kill as many as he can – this time on a train where reports abound of the staff hiding behind locked doors. Okay, other than fact that they forgot the passengers (insert French joke here). How is this different than the advice we receive for active shooter situations in the US? Take cover and wait for someone to come and protect you. We know how that story ends, but yet in too many places in the US – New York for example – that’s the only choice you have with CCW effectively unavailable to those not in law enforcement. While we still have a lot of work to do to ensure our most basic civil right, our right to self defense (that is what the 2A is about) is not infringed, at least we have the Second Amendment in the US . . .
As Americans, we generally realize that hoping for an Airman and an Oregon National Guardsmen to put the greater good above all else isn’t much of a plan. Here in Europe, where the definition of civil rights is more likely to be twisted to meet the needs of the accused than those needing protection, hope and a locked door at your back is pretty much all you’ve got.
Unfortunately, based on my conversations here about America and our right to bear arms, it’s going to stay that way for quite some time so the killing of soft (easy) targets will continue.
Speaking with friends and family in the land of the Magna Carta, I’ve come to the conclusion that the great charter of liberty is dead and the EU constitution that ostensibly idealizes life and liberty does a better job of guaranteeing the right to temper tantrums to strike, more than it truly does of providing for liberty and life.
So how did those 2A conversations go? Polite, but followed with hushed tone questions. This was typical; you haven’t actually used a gun, have you? You mean for pigeon shooting, right? Really, a handgun? You’ve had training? Why? You own one? REALLY! Why? And your wife, too? But she’s not even American!
As with the antis, we have some work to do, but with engagement and education we may be able to influence some.
Yes, we’re still viewed with disdain, seen as cowboys obsessed with guns. Although, when events unfold and Americans run into the fire, I think they’re secretly happy to see us and our Second Amendment-driven culture of self defense, whether we’re actually armed or not. To hell with a stiff upper lip, give me a yank in times of trouble.
Our friends in the UK and the rest of Europe could use a Second Amendment of their own to provide the fortitude, and a little firepower, to allow people to fight back and protect themselves. In this long fight against Islamic extremism, I fear they’re going to need it.