"It's just not Jewish to have a gun" a lot of people think.  Better think again.  One of the famous slogans coined by Rabbi Meir Kahane, z"l was "every Jew, a .22".   Many Jews get uncomfortable at the thought of a having a gun.  In Israel, it's common to have weapons in the home, but in America??? 

After the horrible and tragic murders of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka that took place at the Chabad House (Jewish center) in Mumbai, India, including all the others in the building, I think we need to re-access the world we live in.  Every Jew should consider him/herself a target.

We are going into hard times.  Rumors are that food will be scarce, and money will be like tissue paper, not having any buying power. People are gonna get very angry.  Riots may ensue, and police may not be able to help you.  Jews never fail to be blamed when a host country is in hard times.  Nice Jewish families and Jewish institutions are sitting ducks and will be targets.

Knowing that a .22 doesn't have much stopping power, I think a .38 is better for protecting one's life. If you are the head of your household, wherever they allow gun ownership, GET A GUN. Protect yourself and your family. (Remember, if you own a gun and are making Aliyah, make sure to get the proper permission from Israel to bring your gun over in your lift.  Not notifying and shipping a gun to Israel without the proper legal permission can land one in jail.)

It is the responsibility of most every family (especially if they are Jewish and therefore more of a target) to have a gun and know how to use it.  Husband as well as wife, as what if the husband isn't home at the time a threat happens?  A woman shouldn't be defenseless. She may also have kids at home with her and she needs to be able to protect them as well.

Remember the old cowboy movies from Hollywood when the American settlers went out west, and the woman was left at home on the ranch when her husband was gone, exposing her to possible wayfarers wandering into her home and having their way with her?  We all saw those scenes where the woman grabs her husband's rifle, strands of hair falling in front of her eyes as she raises the rifle butt to her shoulder and shouts, "Don't come a step closer, or I'll shoot!"

Well, today, it is getting to be like the wild west.  Everyone should get a gun, and KNOW HOW TO USE IT.  That of course includes safety. LEARN GUN SAFETY LAWS and again, make sure the country you live in lets you own a gun and that everything is legal.

Folks, there are bad guys out there.  They come as criminals, drugged-out-of-their-mind-thieves, and terrorists. They have no problem murdering innocent men women and children in the streets and buildings of Mumbai, or New York City, a McDonald's restaurant, or in your own home.

     Would you rather be like this?                 Or like this?

I remember reading a very good book called, "Armed & Female" by Paxton Quigley. In there was a true story about a woman in Florida named Kate Petit,  whose car broke down on the side of a road.  After some time of waiting for help, an expensive looking car stopped and a nicely dressed man got out to help her. 

"I had to sum up the situation in a hurry," said Kate. "Here was this respectable-looking gentleman who stopped an expensive-looking car on the highway and backed all the way up to me and my burning car. I didn't have much choice except to ask him for help."

She was standing there, clutching her purse to her body, as he talked to her politely.  As he was talking, he  got physically close to her, when he slipped a knife from inside of his suit and pressed it sharply into Kate's ribs. He told her that if she didn't cooperate, he would push the knife into her heart.  He then slit a tear in her blouse and she felt the knife cut her. She was then ordered into the trunk of his car.  The man drove for about half an hour.  "All the time I was in the trunk, I could hear him yelling from the driver's seat about what he was going to do to me."

When the car came to a stop and she heard the engine cut, she knew it was time.  Kate repositioned herself in the trunk of the car so that she was lying on her back, her feet tucked up under her and her knees pushing hard up against the inside of the license plate wall. Her head was jammed up against the back seat, and she hoped the overhang wouldn't obstruct a clear view of him when he opened the trunk. She knew he would have his knife out. She waited as he opened the trunk of the car.

Kate doesn't remember when the man stopped yelling at her in the trunk, and doesn't remember what he said when he opened the trunk. All she remembers is the BANG BANG BANG of the bullet holes being made in the man's chest by the .38 caliber revolver she had taken out of her purse that she clutched with her as she was thrown into the trunk.  And thank G-d she had her gun, knew how to use it and then saved her life with it.  The man she killed was" a twice-convicted felon who had previously been found guilty of 11 counts of sexual assault, including sodomy, child molestation, and rape. He had served several prison sentences in another state for his offences. At the time he picked up Kate on the highway, he was out on parole for good prison behavior(!) after serving only 22 months for raping a woman and her 12-year-old-daughter.

 Mickey the murderer has a gun.  Danny the druggie has a gun. Robbie the rapist has a gun.  Mohamed, Fatima and even little Ahmed have guns. They know what they are going to do with them.  Why shouldn't the 'good guy' purchase and learn how to use a gun? If you're alone, or you have kids, at least you'll have a fighting chance.  Johnny/Annie Get Your Gun. 
Mohamed, Fatima and even little Ahmed have guns.

"Don't be a victim."   Israeli Annie gets her gun.