Today marks the second anniversary of the October 7th attacks in Israel. Since then, Israel has unleashed a relentless attack on Hamas, which was behind the assault, and is refusing to back down to international pressure to somehow let bygones be bygones, even as Hamas has numerous Israeli citizens in captivity.
I thought that since today is the anniversary of that horrific day, it's a good time to remember the role private gun ownership played in saving lives.
Israel is not exactly a pro-gun nation. They have extensive gun control laws on the books, after all.
But they also recognize that they're surrounded by pretty much nothing but enemies, and are even forced to have an enclave of them within their national borders.
As a result, a lot of people own firearms, including so-called assault weapons, which many want to see banned here in the United States.
When Hamas came pouring over the border, they didn't strike solely at military targets, which is what a decent military does. They targeted kibbitzes and music festivals. They targeted people's homes.
And the scenes that Hamas broadcast to the world were horrific. Women, children, anything was a target. Even the wounded were killed at point-blank range by Hamas.
But here and there, they ran into problems.
Regular people who had guns opted to fight back. They took down a number of Hamas terrorists, saving an untold number of lives.
Some of those armed Israelis fell in the fight. Others made it through that day, and all of them since. That's just how war goes.
But for those whose lives were saved, they all made it through that day, as opposed to being media fodder showing the brutality of Hamas. They lived because someone had a gun. Not just that, but the right kind of gun, one that could be used to fight to protect innocent lives and put down the rabid animals that somehow think it's acceptable to slaughter women and children.
Here, we're probably not as likely to see something like October 7th.
However, the odds of seeing something close enough are never zero. Stephen Williford heard gunshots at the church across the street in Sutherland Springs, Texas. He took up his AR-15 and engaged the killer, thus preventing the rampage from continuing. Eli Dickens had a different gun on his person that day at the Greenwood Park Mall, but he heard a would-be mass shooter start his rampage and took him down, saving who knows how many lives that day.
Our gun rights matter not just because they keep the government from overstepping, but because they keep everyone from overstepping.
In the aftermath of World War II, a quote came about that was attributed to Admiral Yamamoto, saying that one couldn't invade the United States "because there would be a rifle behind every blade of grass." There's no evidence that Yamamoto actually said it, but the sentiment is valid. We protect our nation because, in addition to the United States military, there are 100 million gun owners in this country, many of whom would just love to defend their homes from foreign aggression.
Guns saved lives in Israel.
Guns save lives here.
On this anniversary, we should remember that because they'll continue to save lives just so long as we protect our right to have them.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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