Thoughts on Mumbai

November 30, 2008 by
Filed under: Self Defense 

I’d meant to get this out sooner, but I’ve spent much of the last week nursing a sick kid.  Rotavirus.  Wash your hands.  Enough said.

Breda and Roberta X have some good thoughts on the event.  Instapundit asks the question that I’ve been thinking about.  Would armed citizens have made a difference?

I’ve spent some time in India.  Gun rights don’t exist there the way they do here.  Private gun ownership is essentially prohibited.  News reports right now are saying that there were 10 attackers.  Chances are, even a small number of armed citizens would have made a difference.  It will be interesting to see the reaction over there.  Interest in firearms has been rising in the wake of the Indian successes in the Olympics this summer.  Perhaps the time is ripe for Indians to begin to reclaim their gun rights.

A final thought.  My parents were visiting us for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Sadly, we spent most of it in the hospital with my daughter (see the aforementioned rotavirus.)  While walking into the hospital, we saw a “No guns allowed” sign, and my father (who knows about my interest in firearms and gun rights but is not really a gunnie) asked me if I was armed.  I told him that I carry whenever I can.  He asked me: “Why, because of terrorism?” and I replied “Because you never know.  And my kid deserves to grow up with her dad.”  I think that was the first time he got it.

As an aside, I will mention that in North Carolina, “No guns allowed” signs are legally binding, even for concealed carry permit holders.  This means that you can be charged not just with trespassing but with a more serious crime if you are caught.  It is a terrible thing to force someone to choose between being legal and being safe.

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4 Comments on Thoughts on Mumbai

  1. Dod on Mon, 1st Dec 2008 12:10 am

    2. A newspaper photographer who snapped off some pictures from inside the train station during the attack said afterwards “I only wish I had a gun rather than a camera”. Yup and his government made sure that’s all he had.

    http://www.american-manifesto.com/2008/11/30/may-this-not-be-our-lament/

  2. Snowflakes in Hell » Blog Archive » Thoughts on Mumbai on Mon, 1st Dec 2008 4:21 pm

    3. [...] From The Newbie Shooter, and brings it around to our society here at home. [...]

  3. Ride Fast on Tue, 2nd Dec 2008 2:48 pm

    4. Hope your daughter is fully recovered soonest. Best wishes.

  4. George on Tue, 2nd Dec 2008 2:54 pm

    5. She is, thanks. Now the wife and I are sick. :(

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