You need to get your gun and your training now. Whether you live in the free state of New Hampshire or blue California, you are your family’s last line of defense, and it’s your responsibility to protect them. After parts of cities like San Francisco and Chicago have devolved into no-go zones for law-abiding citizens, blue city residents need protection from criminals the most. In The Wall Street Journal, James Freeman reports the story of progressives who are buying guns and getting trained. He writes:
You’re familiar with California’s flight club, in which liberals often like to pretend that something other than a desire for sensible governance is motivating their decision to move out of state. Now it seems that some of those who remain are taking prudent steps to ensure their safety in the Golden State, even if it can be challenging to reconcile with leftist dogma.
James Queally writes in the Los Angeles Times about firearms instructor Tom Nguyen, founder of L.A. Progressive Shooters:
“It’s always like a dirty secret. I always feel like, before 2020, being a gun owner in liberal progressive spaces was like being in the closet,” he says. “Like you didn’t want people to know you had a gun because you would be judged or looked at a certain way. Like, is there something wrong with you?”
What could be more right than wanting to protect yourself, your family and if necessary the republic? Mr. Queally explains what happened when Mr. Nguyen began posting videos of gun range visits on Instagram:
At the time, Nguyen was running an account for a grassroots marketing team that promoted events run by the L.A. Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl. With most of his followers based in liberal L.A., he anticipated vitriol.
The first message Nguyen received, however, was a request for a lesson. The potential student was a musician who had just bought a gun for home defense following the at times violent street protests after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
“He grew up in Venice in the ’90s. Drive-by shootings. He absolutely hates guns. But he’s like: ‘Yo, I’m married now. Even though I don’t like ’em, I don’t wanna be the only one not to have one,’” Nguyen says.
Who could argue with that? Apparently fewer Angelenos than you might guess, at least in private conversation. Mr. Queally continues:
From there, stories of Nguyen’s firearms proficiency spread by word of mouth. “Tom shoots guns” became an excitably whispered phrase among friends in L.A.’s local music scene, Nguyen said.
Phony public virtue signals aside, gun ownership has been a thing in liberal circles for a while. Last November a Journal editorial noted:
More than half of American voters say that they or someone in their household owns a gun, according to a poll by NBC News. That’s the highest level since its polls began asking in 1999. After progressives drove up firearm ownership with policies that are soft on violent crime, they can’t figure out why their gun-control ideas fail to pass.
The share of voters with a firearm in the household is 52%, up from 46% in 2019 and 42% in 2013. A partisan split is evident. Gun households now include 66% of Republicans, 45% of independents, and 41% of Democrats. This is no surprise, in part because rural areas tilt right, and that’s where hunting is a family event and bears might be prowling the woods.
Notable, though, is that the numbers are increasing the fastest on the left side of the aisle. In 2019, 64% of Republican voters reported that their household had a firearm, compared with 33% of Democrats. The figure for Republicans has risen two points over four years, compared with eight for Democrats.
Acknowledgment of fundamental rights should not be confined to mere whispering among friends. Let’s hope that Los Angeles liberals will now feel comfortable publicly recognizing the right to bear arms and the reasonable desire to protect themselves and their loved ones.
Action Line: Buying a gun because you’re worried about the crime in your city is a good first step. It’s progressives admitting that they have a problem. And the first step to fixing a problem is admitting it exists. Now, maybe these progressives will begin thinking critically about how their problem with crime originated at the hands of Soros-backed DAs and AGs, not to mention legislators and governors, who pursue soft-on-crime policies that treat criminals like victims and victims like oppressors. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, and remember, you are your family’s last line of defense.
