Defensive Gun Use: Kleck, With A Response By DeFilippis And Hughes

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   I'm somewhat skeptical about alleged high rates of defensive gun use, especially away from the home, especially by people without a CCW. But, then, I don't think the question do guns do more harm than good? matters all that much. The government has no right to disarm us. Period. I have little doubt that alcohol does more harm than good. That doesn't give the government the right to take our booze. And, hell, the right to keep and bear booze isn't even Constitutionally protected.

   To some extent, it seems like the same old struggle between different views of state power. One side sees us as free and independent persons first and foremost, and sees government as something that rightfully has a rather limited role in regulating our actions. The other side sees government as primary and pervasive, a force that should regulate wherever it can, perhaps leaving a few spaces open for free, largely unregulated interactions among citizens. For some of my life, my political positions only made sense if I was illicitly seeing things the latter way. But officially I've always seen things as the Founders did--i.e. in the former way. They rejected the latter view, and so do I.

   But none of that, of course, is relevant to interesting questions about defensive gun use.