{Guest Columnist, Bill Bernstein}
Over the last 20 years we have seen a surge of horrendous violent acts against Jews and Jewish institutions. The attack on the shul in Copenhagen in February was only the latest of these events. Among others are the 1999 attack on the Los Angeles JCC by the white supremacist Buford Furrow, the horrific murder of the Chabad rabbi and his wife in Mumbai, India, and the November 2014 killing of worshipers in a shul in Har Nof. The Hyper Cacher market attack in Paris last January was only the worst in a long series of anti-Semitic incidents in France. The scenes from the media are horrific. They are depressing. And they unfortunately are likely to be repeated any place in the world. In fact an earlier version of this article ended the list of attacks with the one in Paris. Sadly I had to update it in light of the Copenhagen attack. Worse, before this goes to press the list will likely grow even longer.
In addition to the overtly anti-Semitic and politically motivated attacks we have suffered we also face the same threats from personal crime anyone does: home invasions, burglaries, property crimes that can horribly degenerate into threats to life and well being. While the rate of such attacks has been declining for years they still happen often enough to be concerning. Witness the multiple locks on front doors and bars on windows common in bigger cities. So while the motives of ideological attacks and petty criminal attacks are different, in practice it is hard to distinguish between people who want to harm us for who we are versus those who want to harm us for what we have. In fact it is irrelevant: both represent existential threats to our existence as individuals and Jews.
So what can we do to defend ourselves against these threats? Is it better to suffer evil than perpetrate injury or death? Do we take comfort in our martyrdom? I don’t believe these represent Torah values. The Torah itself speaks about self-defense in the home in Shemos 22:1, the thief who tunnels in at night. Rashi there comments that killing the thief is not murder at all, since the thief forfeited his life, knowing that no one stands by while his goods are stolen. And so the thief is prepared to murder the home owner and forfeits his own life by that decision. So the Torah clearly contemplates violent response to threats of violence.
It is not my purpose to survey the Torah literature on self-defense, which I believe affirms a right of defense the home and probably outside of it as well. Rather I propose that we re-examine our attitude towards self defense and especially the means to it. In short, it is time to reconsider firearms in the home.
A Gun In The Home
I sometimes use the following scenario for people horrified by the idea of having a gun at home: Imagine if you lived in a place where there were no cars at all. Your only knowledge of cars came from watching car racing shows or demolition derbys on television. To you, cars are loud, noisy, powerful and capable of inflicting critical injuries within seconds. You don’t see many advantages in owning one, and the dangers are obvious Now your spouse proposes buying a car. After you question your spouse’s sanity naturally your first thought will be for the safety of your family and those around you. Because you’ve seen what cars can do.
The comparison is apt because cars in fact produce many more fatalities than guns, and represent far more danger. Yet since we use them every day the danger seems remote. This is because we learn to drive a car usually at a young age and practice driving skills frequently. There is no mystery in how they work, and thus no terror.
Firearms are very similar. They appear frightening and dangerous to people are not familiar with how they operate, nor the benefits of owning them. But good instruction coupled with practice lifts the mystery from them. Continued contact and practice with firearms accrues advantages that were not originally contemplated. Guns are designed to operate on very basic principles that have remained steady for over 100 years. No one would buy a car and just assume he would learn how to drive it if he ever had to go anywhere. And yet people feel somehow that firearms ought to be intuitive enough to master without instruction. Or they simply believe they are like a poisonous snake, subject to strike randomly with no explanation. But they are closer to musical instruments, requiring time, effort and instruction to operate effectively.
The biggest fear people with families have is their small children getting hold of the gun and causing a catastrophic accident. It is a valid concern. but just as we maintain cleaning chemicals, matches, and prescription drugs at home—all sources of home fatalities involving children—so too if we take proper precautions about children and guns there should be no problem whatsoever. I personally have raised three children in a home with many guns. I have never had an incident because I taught my children early what they were, how they operated, and that they were never to touch them without my permission or presence. People naturally want to child-proof the gun, but the correct approach is gun-proofing the child. A good instructor will have advice and suggestions for dealing with these situations. Adherence to 2 basic principles in handling firearms will eliminate any possibility of mishap.2
The biggest advantage of guns for defense is they are a “force equalizer.” A 120 lb woman stands little chance against a 200lb man bent on harming her until she draws her weapon and aims it at him. A single homeowner facing a gang will lose, until he brings his shotgun into play.
There is a reason every police department issues firearms to its officers: they work well in saving lives. But beyond the power they represent is also the responsibility to use them wisely and to care for them properly. Other benefits that come from being a gun owner include exercising a Constitutional right, and a confidence in one’s ability to defend his home and family. The benefits of self-reliance and security are considerable. I often compare a firearm to a spare tire in the car. None of us wants to use a spare tire. But if needed there is no good substitute. And no one goes anywhere without one.
First Steps
The first step to becoming a prepared homeowner is an honest discussion either with oneself or one’s family as to whether a person could bear to take the ultimate step in self-defense and take a life. The vast majority of personal protection incidents do not escalate to that point. But the ultimate decision can come down to an elemental: him or me. And someone unable to make the commitment to winning the fight over losing the fight ought to reconsider having a firearm. I have had customers who returned guns the next day, unable to bear the thought they might have to shoot another person. While I can respect a decision based on some moral, ethical or religious principle I cannot endorse it. I remind people we all have others dependent on us, for whom our death would be catastrophic. They might be parents, spouses, children, employers, employees or others. It is for those people we act in self-preservation. Given the choice I would rather call my elderly mother to tell her I shot someone than have the police call her to say I was killed in a burglary. A discussion with a sympathetic rav might be reassuring.
The next step is to seek out a qualified firearm professional. The NRA has listings of such people, who are qualified instructors, in every state. Every indoor range has qualified teachers on staff. Most gun enthusiasts are happy to share and teach others. Typically instruction begins with a small caliber rifle or pistol to teach fundamentals of shooting. These do not have heavy recoil or loud noise that might distract or bother a first time shooter.
A person must become intimately acquainted with the laws governing both firearms’ ownership and self defense in his locale. These vary greatly from state to state, even city to city sometimes. Some places, for example, require a homeowner to retreat into his own home before using deadly force. Others allow such force immediately on encountering the threat. Unfortunately many large Jewish communities are located in places that are hostile to gun rights and self defense for the private citizen. But even in such places it is possible to purchase a suitable gun for home defense and practice with it. Fortunately many web sites discuss self defense laws with respect to specific locales. Having the business card of a competent defense attorney familiar with such laws or a consultation with him is a good idea as well.
A person should investigate opportunities and the costs to practice often with his gun of choice. The travel time back and forth to a suitable range, the cost to use it, and the cost of ammunition are all factors to consider. It does little good to practice just a few times a year with a firearm at the range. Monthly practice is a good idea, weekly even better for those starting out. Fortunately practice does not just include range time and there are drills one can do safely at home. Loading the gun, unloading it, reloading it under stress can all be practiced safely with ‘dummy” rounds that are inert piece of plastic shaped like real cartridges. Even using a simple laser pointer against a blank wall to simulate aiming is helpful. Again the more familiar someone is with his firearm, the more he can operate it as he operates his car, the more confident he will be and safer.
We as Jews live in increasingly difficult times. The golden age of American Jewry I grew up in, the 1960s to 2000 when we faced little overt anti-Semitism and discrimination is probably gone. In its place is what our people have known for millennia—persecution for who we are, threats of violence and intimidation. We can remain victims in the face of such attacks or we can take responsibility for our safety and that of our families.
*In January 2015 after the Paris attacks, R’ Menachem Margolin called for new legislation allowing Jews to carry firearms in Europe. The next month after the Copenhagen attacks he reiterated his proposal.
* The National Rifle Association (NRA) lists three rules on its website:
1) Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
2) Finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
3) Keep the gun unloaded until ready to use
Doing either of the first two will prevent a catastrophic mishap. Doing both will insure no mishap at all.
{Bill Bernstein has spent nearly a decade as a Federal Firearms Licensee and gun shop operator in Nashville, TN. He is also certified as an Instructor by the NRA.}