Ask any convicted burglar what he fears the most, and he’ll usually name an armed homeowner.

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Imagine the following terrifying home invasion scenario: 

You live in Chicago’s west side Garfield Park community, a neighborhood in which armed home invasions are “all too frequent,” according to news media. 

It’s still dark in the pre-dawn hour of 5:20 a.m.  Few people will be awake to hear your pleas for help, let alone do anything to assist you as they slumber. 

You’re 80 years old, and now walk with the assistance of a cane.  You’re a peaceful Army veteran of the Korean War, respected by your neighbors.  You have a wife who also walks with a cane, whom you’d defend with your life. 

Suddenly, you hear an intruder at your back door downstairs.  The burglar is in his 30s.  And he’s armed with a gun. 

But fortunately, so are you. 

Split seconds seem like hours.  So what do you do? 

Do you call 911, and hope that you will somehow have time to describe your situation and location to the dispatcher, await the dispatcher’s call to the police and then pray until the officer’s arrival?  At which point the armed intruder may ambush the officer, you, your wife or all three? 

Or do you defend yourself and exercise both your inherent right to self-defense and your Second Amendment right to bear arms? 

For the homeowner in question and his wife, he chose the latter. 

As a result, an 80-year-old Korean War veteran and his wife live to enjoy many more days together. 

In contrast, the armed burglar, a career criminal who discharged his own weapon twice during his assault, provides a vivid example to other potential armed robbers.  Namely, that you risk death at the hands of armed homeowners in an America whose Constitution explicitly protects the individual right to keep and bear arms. 

As one would expect, the vigilant homeowner is a hero in the eyes of neighbors and the Chicago community.  Neighbor Shaquite Johnson labeled him a “hero” for defending himself against the now-deceased attacker, noting that there is now “one less criminal” threatening them all.  She added, “they don’t bother no one, so why would anyone do that to them?” 

Curtis Thompson, another neighbor, commented that, “it’s a good thing they had a gun, or they might be dead.” 

Preposterously, however, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley doesn’t see it that way.  Of course, he enjoys the protection of armed bodyguards. 

Unable to assemble a grammatically coherent statement, let alone an intellectually coherent one, Daley responded to the incident by proclaiming that “guns is not the answer:” 

“I understand the situation and I understand.  What I’m saying is all of us have to understand that guns is not the answer to problems we see in homes and on the streets of America.  It’s just as simple as that.” 

Even worse, Mayor Daley refused to say whether the homeowner would be charged under the city’s handgun prohibition.  That would be the same handgun prohibition likely to be overturned by the United States Supreme Court within the month. 

So tell us, Mayor Daley…  If “guns is not the answer” to stopping a potentially murderous pre-dawn armed invader, what is?  And tell us, Mayor Daley…  If someone calls the local pizza restaurant and 911 at the same time, which is likely to arrive first? 

The simple reality is that our nation’s police officers serve admirably and do everything in their power to prevent crime and apprehend transgressors.  But unfortunately, as almost any officer will testify, they cannot be everywhere on a moment’s notice. 

The elapsed time between the moment an armed invader enters a home and the decisive moment he confronts the homeowner, family member or even terrified pet is typically measured in seconds.   It is simply too much to ask police to ensure our collective safety with that sort of efficiency. 

Moreover, ask any convicted burglar what he fears the most, and he’ll usually name an armed homeowner. 

Although opponents of the Second Amendment dismiss the right to keep and bear arms as an 18th century anachronism, this example from Chicago illustrates once again that it’s as important today as it was then.  Korean immigrant shopkeepers who defended their lives and livelihoods against attacking mobs during the 1992 Los Angeles riots provide the same illustration. 

No, Mayor Daley – sometimes, guns still are the answer.  Thankfully, you’re not the final authority on the matter.