Armed Citizens: Not Just an American Concept

We frequently post stories about law-abiding citizens who, by exercising their rights protected under the Second Amendment, bring an end to violent criminal assaults.  We covered two instances earlier this year in Michigan, one involving an attack at a Walmart and another at a church.  We’ve also covered reports that show the benefits of armed citizens.

Of course, most of what we cover takes place here in the United States, where we have the benefit of our Founders recognizing and safeguarding our inherent right to self-defense through the protections of the Second Amendment.

Occasionally, we will report on other countries that appear to be moving in the right direction when it comes to recognizing the benefits of law-abiding citizens being able to defend themselves and others.  We’ve recently seen this in Argentina, Finland, and Poland, and hope to see it elsewhere.

Israel has seen a mix of good and bad when it comes to gun control.

In March, we reported Iranian-linked hackers were able to penetrate Israel’s databases containing sensitive gun owner data and leaked the information online in early February.  This exemplified just one of the numerous problems NRA has long pointed out with registration schemes involving law-abiding gun owners.

Restrictions on law-abiding citizens possessing and carrying firearms are generally more restrictive in Israel than in most states here in the U.S., but their firearm laws have fluctuated over the years based on perceived internal and external threats.

While the 1970s and ‘80s saw firearm ownership in Israel as somewhat ubiquitous, the ‘90s brought increased restrictions.  In 2018, however, Israel began loosening some restrictions.

In 2023, following the unprecedented terrorist attacks of October 7, Israel began loosening restrictions again.

While the country continues to face threats, Breitbart recently reported that “a number of civilians” helped an off-duty Israeli soldier end a terrorist attack on vehicles and pedestrians near a bus stop in Jerusalem’s Ramot Junction.  Although six innocent lives were lost, the casualties could have been far greater had the two terrorists responsible for the attack not been killed.

According to The Times of Israel, “Police said that a soldier and a number of civilians who were present at the scene fired at the terrorists and killed them.”  The paper also noted that National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, commenting on the policy he spearheaded to put more arms in the hands of civilians, said, “Weapons save lives.”