GET A GUN DUDE!

Sorry I’ve been away so long … new job and of course, I’m still devoting a lot of my off time to rebuilding my house after Katrina.

I had to comment on a little item of news I became aware of a few days ago. Seems the National Rifle Association (NRA) is taking flak from the liberal MSM for using truthful facts in trying to make a point.

What I’m referring to is this latest effort by the NRA to point out that gun ownership isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As the latest example to make their argument, they’re pointing to the events and conditions that prevailed on the Gulf Coast right after Katrina.

The leftist MSM is upset about this. They point out that the NRA is exaggerating the problem and using the hurricane for political reasons.

Here’s my opinion – a guy who lived through the aftermath of Katrina.

In a nutshell … the NRA is RIGHT.

I had a gun, actually several guns, and I’m awfully glad I had them.

Here’s the story, and pay close attention, because this can happen to YOU even if you don’t live in a hurricane region. The fabric of civilization is fragile, and you’re fooling yourself if you believe otherwise …

I evacuated my home on Sunday the day before the hurricane. I took all of my guns (approximately ten) with me because I didn’t know when I’d be able to return to my home and I didn’t want looters to steal the guns and use them for evil means. That’s responsible gun ownership – you take the guns with you and maintain positive control over them at all times.

When Katrina hit, she knocked out power from Baton Rouge, La all the way to Mobile, Al. She killed power as far north as Jackson, MS in some places. The Gulf Coast was completely dark. This is “lesson in civilization #1” – our civilization requires POWER. POWER to run police stations, fire stations, hospitals. POWER to run police radio base stations. When power is knocked out, police have a problem communicating with one another, ergo – a potential situation of lawlessness occurs because the police cannot effectively bring their (few) assets to bear on maintaining lawfulness. This occurred BIG TIME in New Orleans – not only because of the problems communicating – but because many of the police deserted New Orleans and others even became part of the criminal element. This also occurred, to a much lesser extent in some areas of Mississippi.

When there is no effective enforcement of the law – a situation of lawlessness occurs. This is evidenced by the looting, rapes, and general evil that occurred in New Orleans after the hurricane.

For two weeks after the storm, I didn’t travel anywhere without a gun – two guns actually. The first was a .45 Cal Colt 1991A1 semi-automatic pistol. The other was a sporterized 7.62mm Russian issue SKS rifle (the kind the Soviets and other communist bloc nations used before adopting the AK-47. Many Viet Cong carried the SKS during the Vietnam War – because it’s a workhorse and you can throw it in the mud, run over it with a truck, pick it up, and it’ll still fire.)

I carried those guns because I didn’t want to be a statistic of the Katrina crime wave that swept the whole Gulf Coast after the storm.

And …

I had to USE those guns.

Not against criminals though – against a DOG.

This brings me to the other point about the usefulness of a gun after the partial collapse of civilization. They aren’t just useful against criminals that would do you and your family harm – they’re also protection against packs of hungry dogs (or other animals) – animals that in this case were abandoned by their owners and took over my neighborhood searching for food.

When I showed up at my house to check the damage the storm caused, one of these dogs quickly spotted my wife and decided she might make a tasty snack.

I didn’t shoot the dog – one warning shot from my pistol was enough for him to get the message. However, I didn’t fire that warning shot until all other means to repel it had failed. This included throwing a stick at it, a rock, and jumping up and down and screaming at it. The dog kept advancing on my wife because it was hungry and hadn’t been fed in a week.

That warning shot quite possibly saved my wife’s life. Even if she had survived a mauling – there were no hospitals up and running to treat her. There were no doctors around. Civilization and what you and I take for granted had almost completely collapsed. No ambulances – no doctors, no hospitals.

My father-in-law went into Chalmette, LA a few weeks after the storm to visit a friend living in a FEMA trailer. His friend told him that, after the storm, the looters came for his stuff. He had a rifle and some ammo – and completely ran out of ammo in fending them off.

The bottom line in this is that – if you had a gun – you could MOVE. You could venture out and find food, ice, water, gas. You could assist others in need. With no gun – sure, you could move about – but you were completely at the mercy of the criminal element – and many Gulf Coast residents discovered this the hard way.

After the storm – you needed a gun. If you didn’t have one, you wished you did. If you had one – you were glad you did.

If you’re one of those who believe that civilization will never crumble around you – then go ahead and criticize gun ownership. If you don’t think a meteor will suddenly fall into your hometown and send everything into lawless chaos – then go ahead and criticize. If you don’t believe your hometown power-grid will ever become lifeless for an extended period of time – then criticize the NRA. If you don’t believe Al Quaida will detonate a dirty bomb on your block – then live in complete bliss my friend.

In my humble opinion, you’re an idiot if you believe that civilization, in your lifetime, is indestructible. And, also in my humble opinion, you’re setting yourself up to be a crime statistic if you don’t have a means to defend yourself and your family after a major catastrophe.

I have ten guns – you’re not getting any of my guns after a civilization collapse – I need them. You can get your own guns.

If you want to be prepared – you need a gun. And, my father-in-law’s friend in Chalmette will tell you – you need a lot of ammo to go along with that gun.

The NRA is right on this folks.