“Societies have to think about how they’re going to approach the problem [of protecting populations from criminals and terrorists],” [former Interpol Secretary General Ronald] Noble told ABC News. “One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you’re going to have to pass through extraordinary security.”
“You have to ask yourself, ‘Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?’ This is something that has to be discussed,” Noble added.
Israel is making a choice now after Hamas terrorists penetrated the “extraordinary security” around Gaza with explosives, boats, and paragliders. With that barrier penetrated, too many Israelis proved to be soft targets for assailants who butchered their way through communities.
Ukraine made similar choices after Russia invaded at the beginning of 2022, putting many civilians on the front lines in their own homes.
“We will give weapons to anyone who wants to defend the country,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. “Be ready to support Ukraine in the squares of our cities.”
Ukrainians anticipated that necessity, flocking to arm themselves in the days before Russian troops crossed the border.
“Gun shops have sold out of some weapons, such as AR-10 and AR-15 assault rifles,” The Guardian reported the day before war began. “With a state of emergency set to be unveiled, the country’s parliament approved a draft law that gives Ukrainians permission to carry firearms,” the story added. “Previously they were forbidden from leaving home with lethal weapons.”
Polling later found that 58 percent of Ukrainians supported wider civilian gun ownership. Before his death early this year in a helicopter crash, then-Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky planned further efforts to meet that demand.
“Certainly, for protection of their homes, civilians should be allowed to use arms,” Monastyrsky said.
— J.D. Tuccille in Israel Eases Guns Restrictions Amidst Security Failures
