by Jim Blasingame
In our online poll last week, we asked this question: “What are your personal actions regarding your 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms?”
As you can see below, 85% of our respondents own a gun of some kind, with over half – 57% – carrying a handgun either part of the time or always. Only 15% said they not only don’t own a gun but also think you shouldn’t.
A few years ago, we polled our online audience with this related question: “Regarding the national gun control debate, do you keep a firearm handy when you’re in your business?” Over half said “Absolutely,” another 15% allowed that they were “thinking about it,” and about a third said, “Absolutely not.” In the sadly ironic category, thousands of business owners no longer need to defend their stores – they’ve had to close down due to increased lawlessness in their cities.
Defund the police? What could go wrong?
Meanwhile, there’s been a growth in gun and ammo possession, especially over the past couple of decades, plus increased interest in handgun training. According to a Pew report, about a third of Americans own at least one gun, with another third thinking about it, and the remaining third saying, “Never.” For two-thirds of those owning only one, it’s a handgun. And for context, all of this is simultaneous with a decline in hunting participation over the past half-century from 7.7% of the U.S. population to 4.6% (WildlifeforAll.us).
Hunting with my father, I learned how to use and be safe with a gun. That discipline was further ingrained by the U.S. Army, where I qualified with several different weapons, including the venerable 1911 (.45 caliber) officer sidearm. And to prove that I’m no cowboy, I didn’t own a handgun – even during the years I raised two kids – until about 25 years ago. That’s when two factors converged: 1) the direction of American society and politics; and 2) the acquisition of four grandsons who, for some reason, wanted to hang out with me.
A couple of years before the first grandson was born, a local father and son were taken hostage and murdered for no other reason than to steal their truck to use in a bank robbery. The father was unarmed. That day I vowed to never be caught with my family in a tight spot against someone stupid or desperate without the ability to at least level the playing field by causing them to either abandon their plan or rethink it long enough for me to disengage. Today, I often carry when I’m alone, but always when I’m with family and friends – especially the grandsons. And thanks to compacts, no one even knows.
The U.S. Constitution was conceived and codified by what surely must be the preeminent of all genius clusters: our Founding Fathers. And as in so many cases over the past 236 years, their relevance genius continues to transcend time and tide as our purposefully numbered 1st and 2nd Amendments remain immutable.
Even as other constitutional elements are parsed and fiddled with by legislation and courts, Most Americans understand that every liberty we have – small or large – flows from the headwaters of the 1st Amendment: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech ...” And we also know that the 2nd Amendment was codified to grant Americans the liberty to “keep and bear arms” to defend themselves and their liberties – especially speech – if and when necessary.
Observing what’s happening at home and abroad today, an increasing number of every day, middle-of-the-road, unexcitable, non-ideological Americans are asking themselves: “Is there a greater likelihood of having to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights to keep and bear arms – without infringement – in order to defend my family and myself, and our liberties?”
Write this on a rock … A wise person once said, “It’s better to be armed and not need it than to need it and not have it.” Thank you, Founders.
JIM BLASINGAME is one of the world's foremost thought-leaders on business and entrepreneurship. Jim is a marketplace futurist helping businesses anticipate what’s coming at them over the horizon. And he helps them get out of their own way. Jim’s last two books have won multiple international awards: The 3rd Ingredient -- the Journey of Analog Ethics into the World of Digital Fear and Greed and The Age of the Customer – Prepare for the Moment of Relevance. http://www.jimblasingame.com/