Texans and their neighbors have received well-deserved praise for taking care of their own in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. (Video below.) But not from left-leaning commentators. “See?” they say. “All these tough-talking anti-Big Government Texans are relying on federal assistance. Hypocrites!” They’re dissing the idea of self-reliance, generally. Which, IMHO, underpins gun ownership. Which makes me wonder: are gun owners better in a crisis, generally?

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47 COMMENTS

  1. Generally, yes gun owners tend to be better prepared and better able to adapt to the current environment and the situations that arise because of the environment than are non gun owners. IMHO I think it comes from the fact that gun owners accept greater responsibility for their personal preparedness and safety than do some non gun owning citizens.

  2. In my 64 years I’ve been in numerous “crises”. Mostly unarmed. If you’re a baby without a gun you’ll be one WITH a gun. Being armed is better but it doesn’t replace a spine…

  3. Your first mistake was actually listening to, then having some level of care regarding the opinion of leftists. Drop this same disaster on one of our liberal utopian cities and watch a much different outcome. People would be eating each other after a week without lattes and no wifi.

    • Houston is as “blue” as it gets. However, there may be a diffference between “Texas Blue” and “California Blue”.

      • There most assuredly IS a difference between Texas Blue and California Blue. At least as far as the PEOPLE are concerned. Now, as to the politicians?, no, there isn’t much of a difference.

        But that’s irrelevant, as most of the people coming to the rescue of Houston are the folks from outside the affected areas, and tend to be the more crimson necked variety 🙂

      • Houston proper, meaning the actual legal city limits, sure. It’s blue. Just like every other city, it’s full of multi-generational welfare cases, criminal underclass, and a smattering of ultra rich limousine liberals. That’s roughly 2.5 million people. A quarter million of them came from NOLA after Katrina. They’ve multiplied like rabbits since then.

        Now, Houston, as in the greater Houston metropolitan area, spans about nine counties and includes all the suburbs, in addition to Houston proper. That’s about 6.5 million people and is heavily red.

  4. “Which makes me wonder: are gun owners better in a crisis, generally?”

    Concealed carry permit holders are estimated to be 6 times more law-abiding than the population as a whole, including ‘law enforcement’.

    Not all gun owners are carry permit holders, however. Estimates in carry states are around 10 percent.

    It seems reasonable to me gun owners as a whole are somewhat better people as a whole, compared to the population as a whole. IE, “Your individual mileage may vary”.

    • Well, maybe not “better”, but “more responsible”.

      And by the way, since you are 1 county away, I’ll tell you – I’ve got a bad vibe about Irma. I’m cleaning the water cans and whatnot.

      • “Well, maybe not “better”, but “more responsible”.”

        Being “more responsible” pretty much implies being a better person, in general.

        On Irma, yeah, I’m keeping my eye on the eye of Irma’s eye, so to speak. It won’t flood me where I’m at, and the storm surge has to reach 153 feet to drown me.

        This is an *excellent* tropical weather website I stumbled across recently, you may want to bookmark it. The website owner goes into considerable detail on the how and why of hurricanes that do that *special* thing that hurricanes “are wont to do”:

        https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/

  5. Pretty sure those are private boats they are using. This looks so much better than the signs that say “you loot we shoot” – even though those are completely acceptable. In an emergency, many of these people bearing arms would give you whatever you needed if you JUST ASK.

    If you tell people you are in need, especially during a natural disaster, many/most across this generous nation will give what they can if you do not try to take it. America has demonstrated enormous generosity both to Americans and abroad. Even some businesses will give in an emergency. Don’t Steal Ask!

  6. Many, if not indeed most of the “better” people I’d rather have around me in a crisis situation are gun owners.

  7. I regularly remind everyone how the Progressive mind operates on altruism, fantasy, and emotion. That is why Progressives dismiss the real risk of violent attack and dismiss necessary measures to minimize the damage of an attack. That very same mode of operation is why Progressive minds also tend to dismiss the real risk of natural disaster and dismiss necessary measures to minimize the damage of a natural disaster.

    Conversely, people who acknowledge and plan for the real risk of a violent attack and necessary measures to minimize the damage of an attack will usually do the same for the real risk of a natural disaster.

    So, yes, I believe the overwhelming majority of people who purposely acquired firearms for self-defense will be better in a crisis (natural disaster).

    • Most of the gun owners I know are steady hands, not terribly excitable and dealing with life as it occurs. Most of the liberals I know, on the other hand, are in for a RUDE awakening if their worldview is turned upside-down, it’s not all peace, love and hugs and people are actually mean to them. They are going to FREAK OUT.

      Yes, I would rather have steady people by my side in a crisis than untrained hysterical people. You’re never quite sure what whacky thing a hysteric is going to try next.

      • For example: I have a friend who owns several machine guns, one of which is a ca. 1944 MP-40. One day he was showing us his MP-40. One of our party was an east-coast cosmopolitan sort of guy who, it turned out, was absolutely terrified of guns. When my friend brought out the MP-40, this guy turned white, back-pedaled away from the gun and literally ran from the backyard He’s a nice enough guy but none of us knew he was that scared of guns. I thought the poor guy was going to faint.

  8. I think it is more like people with a lick of sense own guns. Not that stupid people don’t also occasionally. There the one’s we read about most often.

    • I think you may have a point. It may not necessarily be that gun owners are generally better prepared to help in a crisis because they are gun owners, but that the KIND of people who prepare for a crisis tend to include firearms as part of the preparedness planning. This makes more sense. I mean what good does it do to have stockpiles of food, with no means of protecting those from people who did not stockpile food. Plus you find that folks who hunt are more likely to be self reliant.

  9. There is nothing wrong with a government that helps its people when they need it. Living off of government handouts as a lifestyle choice is much different. Many of these people have never come back from hard times created by the corporations they worked for and then abandoned to seek workers offshore. Most of these people are working at menial jobs because the semi skilled workers have no place to work anymore. They are at the end of thier rope, living from paycheck to paycheck.

  10. No, but responsible gun ownership is indicative of maturity, and mature individuals deal with problems more productively than infants.

    • Maturity.
      Yes. That’s the word I like to use. A child wants a grownup to do things for them, while adults do things for themselves.
      I remember a new customer a few years ago: mid to late thirties, female, came in wither her brother as a guide to purchasing her first gun. Over the course of our talk, she told me she had just recently come to the correct conclusion that she needed to be able to take care of herself. Seeing her persistent apprehension about her decision, I thanked her – for her decision was one that an adult would make, carefully considered and mature. She seemed pleased with this, being reassured that she was doing the right thing.

  11. I’d venture that the two types of gun owners, reliable in a crisis v not, can be measured by their hunting practices (for those who hunt): every hunter I’ve known who follows the rules and hunts “Well, and true, and honorably”, would be better than any government bureaucrat in any crisis, but those who can’t be bothered to follow the rules when hunting might just be liabilities.

    The example in my mind is a trio of idiots out “hunting” from a pickup, who pinned me in their spotlight and I was leaving my stand — one of whom sent off a shot in my direction without bothering to identify just what he saw moving. That was the only time in my life I actually had the urge to shoot in the general direction of another human being, and I suspect that in a crisis those guys and their type would be ones I;d want to be armed against.

      • The bit that makes me (almost) pee my pants laughing, every time, is:
        Ripley: Hudson! This little girl survived longer than that with no weapons and no training.
        [to Newt]
        Ripley: Right?
        [Newt apes a salute]
        Private Hudson: Why don’t you put her in charge?

        • ” I am sure sorry Bill P. is dead now.”

          Bill Paxon – “Dead? What do you mean I’m dead? Oh, great! That’s just great! What am I gonna do now? Just decompose? “.

          *snicker*

  14. The Left is angry that Huston didn’t turn into New Orleans after a hurricane. It was guns that made the difference, and a willingness to help each other, and leadership.

    Kathleen Blanco, governor of Louisiana during hurricane Katrina, supported the confiscation of guns from law abiding hurricane survivors. She supported the police chief orders to confiscate guns. She did everything wrong.

    • It was also a Republican governor, who began preparations as soon as the path of the storm was established. He had the National Guard activated and ready to go, as well as every other state resource available. And he requested federal assistance long before Harvey hit. Houston was also far more prepared for a hurricane than New Orleans was. They were far better prepared when Katrina and Rita hit in 2005. The governor of Louisiana and the mayor of New Orleans screwed the pooch royally in 2005.

  15. Considering alot of the time “gun owner” usually also equals “prepper/survivalist”, I’d say so.

  16. Law abiding gun owners are better in a crisis. Criminals who also own guns are much more dangerous in a crisis; they are the people who will shoot you for your water or loot your store. But we all know that.

  17. I can’t remember, but Texas long ago told the federal gov’t to kiss off and that they didn’t need there help. That’s when the churches helped there community’s. Since then we all have learned about handouts. Can anyone tell me the year and and who was president?

  18. BTW, if you go into an emergency shelter you must disarm. So planning ahead and evacuating is a much better option.

    • “BTW, if you go into an emergency shelter you must disarm.”

      Not when concealed means *concealed*.

      Will they be groping crotches to search for guns at the shelter?

      (The women can always go ‘Dallas Archer’ if need be….)

  19. It’s not a black-and-white choice between complete self-reliance and utter dependence on government.

    When things really go sideways, people are going to need BOTH self-reliance and help from others (whether it’s the gov, a private charity, your church congregation, or your next-door neighbor).

    That said, I fully believe that gun owners as a group will be better and do better in a community-wide crisis (observably, they have done and are doing). It’s kind of baked in. We tend to prepare more and be more self-reliant and law-and-order oriented.

    Individuals will differ wildly (and I am nowhere near as prepared and competent as many people here on TTAG), but as a group this bears out.

  20. It could be that some gun owners are also preppers, and have collected supplies for survival, maybe even practiced or studied survival situations, which translates to natural disasters. I know if I had to, my family could survive without running water, elec. or gas for several weeks without even stepping foot outside. At least I wouldn’t be part of the panic in the stores before the storm or get in the way in the aftermath of people looking for supplies.

  21. Gun owners are not better in a crisis because we have guns. We’re better in a crisis because we have balls.

  22. I am a gun owner and have been most of my life. I am also retired Navy. My experience, training and involvement with other gun owners and clubs confirm the statement gun owners are better prepared psychologically to deal with a crisis than non gun owners, ie…liberals. Hurricane Sandy saw the collapse of the police as a force to protect citizens and property on Long Island. I was there! Individuals and gangs of criminals roamed the South Shore at will attempting to rob and loot wherever possible. Armed homeowners thwarted many attacks without killing. Some were wounded of course. But armed homeowners saved lives!

  23. Well, you don’t have to own a gun to be good in a crisis and there are plenty of gun owners I’m sure would turn to mush. But generally yeah, if being a gun owner means you are more likely to have thought about disasters and done some prep – at least in your head – then overall it probably does.

  24. Most of the supporting, sheltering, and rescuing I saw was done by regular citizens and not the government. The federal government actually got in the way. So did the Red Cross. You’d probably help more people by giving money to a local business than the Red Cross.

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