Why guns matter. (Scan).(Brief Article)

During the tense weeks that followed Election Night 2000, many Americans became familiar with the color-coded map dividing their country into patches of red and blue. Many publications, including TAE (see March 2002), have described the cultural differences between the primarily coastal pockets that supported Gore and the expanses of Bush territory in between. But if column inches and word counts are any indicator, few commentators have investigated the underlying philosophical difference between Blue and Red America. They might start by examining the debate over gun control.

Gun-control advocates frequently argue that the Second Amendment is "obsolete," that in our era the government can fulfill all our law-enforcement needs. So, how well does the government take care of Blue America? According to the FBI, Gore-leaning states reported one crime for every 27 residents in 2000. The situation is on the mend, but there are still plenty of holes in the Left's security blanket.

Blue America's overconfidence exemplifies the elitism and insularity that characterize its culture in general. Blue America forgets that not everyone lives in cities with beat cops or in suburbs with ample law-enforcement budgets. From my east Tennessee home, the nearest police station is a good 20-minute drive away. Add the time it takes to process a 911 call and locate the offender, and it becomes evident that if my family did not own guns, criminals could wreak havoc with impunity. Apparently my situation is not unique: In Red America, those 1-in-27 odds rise to 1 in 22. Out here, the arm of the law just isn't long enough, and even liberals such as Mississippi's Mike Espy know that big government can't "go it alone" against criminals who will respect new anti-gun statues no more than the laws they break already.

Blue America holds not only that the government is a competent agent on our behalf, but also that in forming that government we ...