One comment I’ve heard from those who would strip you of your Second Amendment rights is that carrying a handgun for personal defense against heavily-armed and armored terrorists would be an entirely futile effort, certain to lead to your pointless death.

An officer with the Garland Police Department vehemently disagreed with that sentiment last night, drawing his sidearm and killing two would-be jihadis after they attempted to storm a free speech demonstration.

A traffic officer working after hours as security for the event and armed only with a service pistol killed both men, who were wearing body armor and carrying assault rifles, Garland Police Department spokesman Joe Harn told reporters Monday.

“He did what he was trained to do, and under the fire that he was put under, he did a very good job. And probably saved lives,” Harn said of the unidentified officer. “We think their strategy was to get into the event center, and they were not able to get past our perimeter that we had set up.”

An unarmed security officer working with the patrol officer was shot in the ankle, police said. None of the approximately 200 people attending the event were hurt.

The would-be terrorists were allegedly armed with AK-47 “assault rifles” and were wearing “body armor” according to a number of sources. While it is possible that terrorists could obtain real selective-fire AKMs from their allies in Mexican drug cartels, it is more probable that the weapons in use are merely run-of-the-mill AKMs. Likewise, while it is possible that the terrorists where wearing body armor, it is more likely that they were wearing simple load-bearing equipment (LBE).

The two Islamic terrorists who attempted to attack the building opened fired from either in or beside their vehicle (the details are still unclear at this point) and struck an unarmed security guard in the ankle with a single bullet. A uniformed Garland traffic officer armed only with his duty sidearm then drew his pistol and engaged the terrorists, killing both men before they could step more than a few feet from their vehicle.

The heavily armed Garland SWAT police that we’ve seen in most of the media coverage never fired a shot, as the terrorists didn’t get that close.

This incident clearly shows that a decently-trained and level-headed handgun shooter can engage with and destroy rifle-armed adversaries, and that a perceived  firepower advantage is irrelevant if those with the firepower lack skill to aim their weapons effectively.

Practice, practice, practice, folks.

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It is precisely because of the continued threat of Islamic terrorism that we first suggested concealed carriers should consider ditching their pocket guns for duty guns for every day carry back in October:

I’ve talked to a number of gun owners in recent months who have told me that they are upgrading their choice of “everyday carry” (EDC) firearms as a result of the failure of the Obama Administration to even put up an appearance of attempting to stop terrorist and criminal threats.

I’ve chosen to join them.

I’ve traded in the above “EDC lite” configuration for a configuration that roughly doubles my personal practical shooting range, and triples my available ammunition.

Instead of a “pocket nine” with one spare magazine totaling 13 rounds, I’m carrying a full-size pistol and two spare magazines, totaling 46 rounds of ammunition. It’s just as comfortable to carry and faster for me to access, and the only clothing adjustment I had to make is adding an untucked over-shirt shirt to my normal “tee and jeans” attire. I’ve also added a slim but powerful 500 lumen tactical light to handle transitions from light to dark, make the unknown, known, and help disorient potential threats in low-light conditions.

A duty-grade sidearm like the Walther PPQ M2 and two spare magazines I’ve been carrying puts me (or you) on par with local law enforcement in terms of on-hand defensive firepower, and while it isn’t what I’d choose to carry near a suspected or known target, it’s certainly more formidable than the a tiny “pocket nine” with a much shorter practical range and fewer rounds immediately at hand.

Be trained and be prepared, folks.