Broad
+ Liberty ran my piece on good guys with guns refuse to be victims.
It
has been said that a good guy with a gun is the best way to stop a bad guy with
a gun.
I
recall some years ago when Mark Tartaglia, then a Philadelphia detective, told
me that criminals fear private citizens with a legal gun far more than they
fear armed cops. While I was on a ride-along with him, he told me that most
crooks think that an armed private citizen would be quicker to shoot than a
cop.
“A
lot of criminals say they fear citizens with a gun more than a cop with a gun,
because they believe the citizen won’t hesitate to shoot to protect themselves,
their families and their property,” Tartaglia said. “But that knowledge and
fear doesn’t stop criminals from keep on committing muggings, burglaries and
carjackings.
“Because
bad guys don’t think it through. They know regular citizens carry legal guns
nowadays, but they don’t think they will get caught, let alone get shot by a
regular guy who is armed and willing to shoot them.”
You
can read the piece via the below link or the below text:
Paul Davis: Good guys with guns refuse to be victims (broadandliberty.com)
Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Beat Column: Riding Shotgun Through The Philadelphia Badlands
Good Guys With Guns Refuse To Be Victims
By Paul Davis
It
has been said that a good guy with a gun is the best way to stop a bad guy with
a gun.
I
recall some years ago when Mark Tartaglia, then a Philadelphia detective, told
me that criminals fear private citizens with a legal gun far more than they
fear armed cops. While I was on a ride-along with him, he told me that most
crooks think that an armed private citizen would be quicker to shoot than a
cop.
“A
lot of criminals say they fear citizens with a gun more than a cop with a gun,
because they believe the citizen won’t hesitate to shoot to protect themselves,
their families and their property,” Tartaglia said. “But that knowledge and
fear doesn’t stop criminals from keep on committing muggings, burglaries and
carjackings.
“Because
bad guys don’t think it through. They know regular citizens carry legal guns
nowadays, but they don’t think they will get caught, let alone get shot by a
regular guy who is armed and willing to shoot them.”
Tartaglia
chuckled and shook his head as we drove through the city’s 3rd Police District,
not far from the detective’s South Philly home.
“Most
criminals are stupid, and they are surprised when they learn the hard way that
some folks will defend themselves and refuse to be a willing victim.”
Most
police commissioners and chiefs share the view of the liberal mayors who
appointed them to their positions. They tend to be for government gun control,
which liberals have rebranded as “gun safety,” as it sounds less
sinister.
But
Tartaglia, a veteran detective, was all for private citizens arming themselves.
An avid hunter, he said he knows many hunters who are proficient with
firearms.
“And
a lot of them shoot better than most cops I know,” he said with a laugh.
Mark
Tartaglia also noted that even if the police respond in record speed, the
criminal has probably already done his worst to the victim.
Tartaglia
said that he believed citizens ought to arm themselves and defend themselves,
as long as they obey the law. He added that if they are not avid hunters,
military vets or former cops, then they should get some firearm proficiency
training.
“I
just love hearing stories about a bad guy who is shot by an armed good guy,”
Tartaglia said.
A
recent case in point is when a would-be carjacking victim shot and wounded a
would-be carjacker dressed in a black ski mask and in black clothing on a late
Saturday evening in Kensington.
The
Philadelphia Police stated that a seventeen-year-old suspect tried to steal a
car from a would-be carjacking victim who was sitting in the car with another
man. One of the men in the car, who possessed a license to carry a firearm,
shot the suspect.
The
wounded suspect, no doubt surprised to have been shot, ran to Frankford Avenue,
where he collapsed. The suspect was picked up and taken to a hospital where he
was listed in critical condition. He was later charged with a variety of
crimes.
This
was only one incident of a legally armed citizen thwarting a robbery. There are
many other reported incidents of armed private citizens thwarting robberies and
other crimes, as well as saving themselves and the lives of others.
While
more and more citizens across the country are applying for and receiving
licenses to carry firearms in an effort to defend themselves, many liberal
politicians and Hollywood celebrities are quite vocal in opposition to the idea
of the right to carry firearms.
Of
course, the politicians from President Biden on down who are against legally
armed private citizens, are themselves protected by armed Secret Service
agents, armed police officers, or hired armed private security. And the
Hollywood celebrities and entertainers who go on ad nauseum about
the danger of guns in the hands of regular people, live in secure gated
communities which are guarded by armed private security. And these celebrities
never venture out without their personal armed bodyguards.
More
and more these days, private citizens will leave their homes with their phone,
their wallet, their car and house keys, and their gun. More and more women will
place their legally owned and carried guns in their coat pocket or in their
purse.
So
criminals beware.
Another
recent carjacking was thwarted by a private citizen in Philadelphia. But he
used something a bit bigger than a handgun. A SEPTA bus driver used his bus to
stop a carjacking by pulling in front of the car the criminals were trying to
carjack.
Good
for him.
So
unless you have access to a bus, the best way to defend yourself and refuse to
be a victim is to legally carry a firearm.
Paul Davis is a Philadelphia writer who covers crime.
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