But even more than that, these stories underscore the hard reality that if one wishes to ensure their own safety, they are better off doing it themselves than relying on the governmental deity the hard left worships. Amid skyrocketing crime rates, these tales affirm why it is vital for responsible citizens to be armed and trained.

Fox News reported on a slew of stories in which ordinary people were forced to defend themselves using a firearm. The author noted:

The latest concealed carry news comes months after an estimated 5.4 million Americans bought guns for the first time in 2021, and a staggering 8.4 million people purchased their first firearm in 2020, according to statistics from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

Several instances in recent months have highlighted the lawful use of guns by legal gun owners who have exercised their rights when in imminent danger.

On Feb. 8, a Chicago man shot a 19-year-old who was brandishing a knife. According to Fox News:

The man heard a disturbance coming from his neighbor’s home shortly after 10:40 p.m. on Feb. 8 and discovered a woman and a 19-year-old man “who was holding a knife,” police said. The neighbor then left the home and went outside, but the man with the knife followed him out, cops said.

“The 19-year-old male who was armed with a knife continued to approach the male who was a licensed concealed carry holder,” Chicago police said. That’s when the neighbor pulled out his weapon and shot the teenager.

The authorities later found the young man walking while still carrying the knife. They used a taser to apprehend the suspect, and he is expected to survive his injuries. The man who shot him was a concealed carry license holder.

In November, a Chicago woman who possessed a concealed carry permit fought off two carjackers who accosted her outside of her bank. “Thank God I had my gun, or I’d probably be dead right now,” she said afterward.

Another incident, which occurred in Philadelphia in January, involved a 60-year-old man who used a gun to defend himself against two carjackers. “The suspects pointed a firearm at his head and ordered him to hand over the car keys, the report states. But instead, the driver also brandished a gun and the groups exchanged fire,” according to a local Fox affiliate. The report continued:

The carjackers fled, but the man told responding officers from the Philadelphia Police Department that he had shot the armed carjacker.

Police were later called to the 6700 block of Germantown Avenue – just three blocks from the shootout – and found a 16-year-old inside a Jeep bleeding heavily from the legs, Small said.

In a particularly alarming story, a 12-year-old in North Carolina used a pistol to defend himself and his grandmother. From Fox News:

In February 2021, a 12-year-old in North Carolina was forced to open fire on a pair of home intruders to protect his grandmother from armed robbers who shot her in the leg and demanded money, police said.

“[The intruder] just shot his grandma… He would have shot him too, he would’ve shot me too, he would’ve killed us all,” the boy’s great-uncle, Randolph Bunn, said.

When the boy opened fire, the intruders fled on foot. One suspect was found later at an intersection suffering from a gunshot wound. He was brought to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

These are only a few situations in which law-abiding individuals had to use a pistol to defend themselves. The Heritage Foundation created a tool that tracks local stories of defensive gun uses (DGUs), so next time that annoying leftist on Facebook or Twitter tells you these situations don’t happen, just show it to them.

But even more than that, there are plenty of studies showing that scenarios like the ones you just read play out far more often than the Beto O’Rourkes of the world would have you think. The most conservative of these studies, conducted by the National Crime Victimization Survey, estimated that about 100,000 DGUs occur each year. Another study, conducted by Gary Kleck based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, estimated that there are about 1 million incidents in which gun owners used their weapons to defend themselves or others.

Gun ownership is critical in the current times in which we are living. Crime rates have increased drastically over the past two years, in large part because of the hard left’s campaign to defund police departments and ensure fewer officers are patrolling the streets.

Making matters worse are woke district attorneys operating in blue cities like New York City and San Francisco. These supposed prosecutors apply woke theology in a way that protects criminals more than law-abiding individuals. They place people in danger by releasing violent felons through bail reform and a refusal to prosecute certain types of crimes.

In a world where local governments don’t care about protecting their citizens, gun ownership is even more crucial. In most cases, the police can’t protect you from an imminent threat. The bottom line is that, despite what the gun-grabbing left would have you think, you cannot outsource your responsibility to defend yourself and your loved ones to the state.