About a week ago I posted a brand-X piece about armed citizenry (wisdom and virtue of), but included a not quite brand-X question: does anyone know of any website/blog/compendium of links to individual stories of guns used successfully for self-defence? There were a few comments, including this from themic:
The best way to find regular stories about guns saving lives of good guys is to rely on the abilities of thousands of bored people who are connected to the internet and have a common interest.
So, I recommend checking out Packing, a website dedicated to keeping track of concealed permit laws here in the US. Click on “Gun Talk” and scour the headlines that people post throughout the day… you can usually find at least a couple per day, that were actually referenced in the media somewhere (!).
Here in the US, it’s generally thought that guns are used defensively 2 – 2.5 millions times per year (but rarely actually fired).
I can point you to some more links if you want. I keep track of this stuff because I’m often bored and on the internet.
To my shame I didn’t email any encouragement back to him, and that was that, until today, when themic came back with a further comment:
I have doubts that anyone will read this anymore, as it come a bit late … but i stumbled upon the absolute best place website that tracks firearms used defensively.
I share these doubts, which is why I’ve rescued the comment and its link from the oblivion of being attached to a week-old posting and put it here.
Changing the subject somewhat, on his own blog themic also supplies a link to this – as he rightly calls it – creepy website, that backs up that creepy poster first encountered and photographed by Perry, and copied ever since by bloggers everywhere.
UPDATE. Quote from keepandbeararms.com:
What We Do
We seek and find current news stories recounting true events of lawful, decent citizens using firearms to defend themselves, their loved ones, others and property — and channel it back to this central location to assure maximum exposure of these events in a timely and efficient manner.
That’s exactly what I was asking someone to be doing. (How nice it would be if some Americans actually heard about this site for the first time from here. Usually all the information and explanation flows in the other direction.)
I’m an american who just found out about keepandbeararms.com from samizdata. Thanks for the tip!
The poster is absolutely not at all creepy. The UK bus system is a drug ridden, thug ridden danger zone 24/7 especially in London. The poster just points to Metro police officers that have been put onto bus duty so grandma can go shopping in Peckham without getting abuse. Read the small print that you can just see in the bottom left corner. If it’s creepy to ride th bus to work safely then I’ll be creeping aboard.
Gratz, I echo Ed, I’m also an American and first heard about it here!
Note: To Perry. We should have a special link category way near the top of our flagpage column with Very Important Links like this featured. Just a few of them, we might change them form time to time. FEATURED LINKS or something like that.
Hey wow, someone did see that late comment. Wow, Brian, you might actually be even more “bored and on the internet” than me. I’m humbled.
— brendan
“Brendan” (what does “themic” mean, by the way?):
No not quite that bored. Perry has a cunning system in place, one among dozens, to send emails of all comments on pieces I (or whoever) wrote to me (or whoever). And your comment was a very useful one, way above average all here are agreed.
The damn thing winks. Is that supposed to be friendly of some form of tic?
Ah, that website fair warmed the cockles of my flinty heart. Marvelous!
Nice article