I've been thinking about the idiot Brady Group To Ban Guns

statement on how being Christian* means you A: should not be armed and B: should not use such violence to protect yourself if you are. Aside from the general idiocy of telling people that self-defense, and the means of, are Bad Things.

Which thoughts led me to Seraphic Secret, who had a new post Jews, Guns and Torah, and his son's research:
As Ariel's conservative political opinions took form, he logically and ethically fell on the side of legal gun ownership. But because he was first and foremost a Torah Jew, first and foremost a Talmudic scholar, Ariel placed gun ownership into the framework of Jewish law, halacha.
followed by his thoughts on the matter. Touching on the means of self-defense,
Ariel pointed out that in his commentary on Genesis 4:23, Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, says:
“The sword is not the cause of murder, and there is no sin upon him who made it.”

In other words, a weapon, be it a sword or a gun, is neutral. It can be used for good or evil. Thus to label a gun as "bad" makes no sense, for a gun can be used in self-defense which the Torah sees as an obligation. (bold mine)
Ending with
Ariel concluded that Jews in America should be at the forefront of the right to bear arms. For Jews to rely on the power of the state for protection is sheer foolishness. Time and again, Jewish history reveals governments cruelly betraying their Jewish citizens.

And though Ariel felt that America was “unique,” he maintained that allowing the state to make the ownership of weapons illegal is a dangerous policy that opens the door for tyranny in the name of social justice.

But like so much else in American Jewish life, Jews have signed on to aggressively utopian ideologies that go against their self-interest. Instead, countless Jews espouse principles that feed their need to feel virtuous. But in the end, these are beliefs that defy common sense and display an appalling ignorance of Jewish history, halacha, and human nature.

It's really kind of amazing how many people interpret 'Turn the other cheek' to mean "Don't fight, for any reason, including to save your life." I don't recall that troublemaking carpenter saying anything like that, and if he had he'd have been denounced for it; as the gentleman notes, Jewish law holds defense of self and family and people as an obligation.

It's like the way that one Commandment is usually reported as "Thou shalt not kill", when the actual word is 'murder', or 'unlawfully kill'; BIG difference there. (*Update* Mr. Avrech informs me of an error: Just one note, the commandment reads in Hebrew “Al Tirzach,” which translates literally as “Do not murder.” In Hebrew La-harog means to kill. Thanks for the correction)

As has been noted, self-defense is a basic human right that belongs to all people; unless they let their government take it away from them(witness the insanity reported from Britain nowadays). You don't want to fight, even for your life? That's fine; but don't try to tell me, for whatever reason, that I can't.

If you have time, take a look at the post, if for no other reason than his story on what happened with his family during the Rodney King riots, which led to
“Look how close they are,” says Karen.

“Just past La Cienega. Maybe eight blocks away.”

Karen gives me a long penetrating gaze:

“What do we do if they come here?”

“After this is all over,” I vow, “I’m going to buy a pistol.”

Karen says: “How about a shotgun?”
His first buy? A product of the mind of Saint John Browning(pbuh).


*Actually, I think the Brady Group To Ban Guns would prefer using ANY reason, including ANY religion to tell you it's a sin to own guns, let alone plan to commit self-defense with them.