By Trey Fraker
Given the recent attacks on Israel and the widespread support for these terrible actions, there is no better time than now to understand our rights to self-defense and responsible gun ownership. It seems as though the attack on Israel on October 7th was just the beginning of a much larger movement around the world.
Antisemitism and anti-Christian views have grown exponentially across the globe, here in America antisemitism is up 378% at last record, due to the cowardly attacks and the disgusting onslaught of disinformation and misinformation from many mainstream media outlets and widespread across social media. It is because of these attacks, lies, and propaganda that force me to believe that it has never been more important for people of all religions to defend ourselves, to defend our families, and to defend our communities. The time is now for all of us to understand and apply our constitutional rights as Americans.
The First Amendment protects several fundamental rights, including freedom of speech, religion, and the press, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. It ensures that citizens have the freedom to express their opinions, practice their faith, and engage in peaceful assembly without fear of government interference.
Much like the First amendment, the Second Amendment also protects several fundamental rights, just a few of those being our right to self-defense and our right to defend ourselves against tyranny. The Second amendment plainly states: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The words in this amendment are not open to interpretation. It guarantees citizens the right to keep, own, and carry arms. The first amendment guarantees our right to freedom of religion and to congregate to celebrate our religious beliefs while the first amendment guarantees our right to congregate and pray safely.
The number of lives SAVED by firearms is immensely underrated. It’s been estimated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that at a minimum 500,000 lives have been saved by defensive gun interactions and could possibly top 3,000,000 every year as refenced in an article found on Heritage.org (https://datavisualizations.heritage.org/firearms/defensive-gun-uses-in-the-us/). It can never be an absolute number because many times these types of interactions go unreported. I bring this to light because the attacks on Churches and Synagogues across the country, ranging from vandalism to destruction of property and ultimately murder, are growing at an alarming rate. I for one absolutely do not want to be in the latter statistic and I know several people in our community that feel the same way.
We happen to be lucky to live in a state that no longer requires a “concealed carry permit” or a “license to carry” a firearm (https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/87R/billtext/pdf/HB01927F.pdf#navpanes=0). Texas laws are changing and are benefiting us as citizens. I urge you to read the firearm laws that our Texas constitution afford you. I say this because, as Jews, our safety and the safety of our loved ones has been trusted to the authorities for too long. They haven’t stopped the vandalism, or physical attacks, or the murder of several Jews such as Samantha Woll, president of a Detroit Synagogue, who was stabbed to death outside of her own home. Authorities are claiming that it is not believed to be a hate crime. It may or may not have been but this example exemplifies the need for us to protect and defend ourselves and our communities. Our safety should not be placed in the hands of others but firmly in our own.
This brings me to the importance of firearm ownership along with the skill of shooting. A firearm is a tool much like any other useful item that we use in everyday life. Shooting, like writing, is a learned and very useful skill that should be learned and respected. This seems to ring especially true with the events that are unfolding across our nation. As a member of our El Paso community and as the owner of an online gun and gun accessories web-store, I feel a sense of duty to help spread awareness and to help those that wish to learn about firearms and the skill of defensive shooting develop those skills.
The link to our Texas constitutional carry: https://guides.sll.texas.gov/gun-laws/carry-of-firearms
