Thanks as always to The Other McCain and Pirate’s Cove for the Rule Five links!  And thanks to our blogger pal Doug Hagin over at The Daley Gator for the linkback.

Moving right along:  The Daily Signal has documented eight stubborn facts about gun ownership in America. Read the entire article, of course, for detailed explanations of them all, but as a thumbnail, those eight are:

1. Violent crime is down and has been on the decline for decades.
2. The principal public safety concerns with respect to guns are suicides and illegally owned handguns, not mass shootings.
3. A small number of factors significantly increase the likelihood that a person will be a victim of a gun-related homicide.
4. Gun-related murders are carried out by a predictable pool of people.
5. Higher rates of gun ownership are not associated with higher rates of violent crime.
6. There is no clear relationship between strict gun control legislation and homicide or violent crime rates.
7. Legally owned firearms are used for lawful purposes much more often than they are used to commit crimes or suicide.
8. Concealed carry permit holders are not the problem, but they may be part of the solution.

Now, long-term readers of these virtual pages probably know that I mislike utilitarian arguments for policies of this type; the Second Amendment says I have the right to own and carry guns (that’s what keep and bear means) and that’s that.  Also, as a minarchist libertarian, the only legitimate law I recognize is “you can’t take my stuff,” which means that unless I transgress against another person, my liberty and property are sacrosanct.

But, it’s true, utilitarian arguments can be useful to persuade fence-sitters who have not yet formulated a strong position on a given issue.  And there are some pretty solid utilitarian arguments here.  For example:

• Concealed carry permit holders are often “the good guy with a gun,” even though they rarely receive the attention of the national media. Concealed carry permit holders were credited with saving multiple lives in:

• • Rockledge, Florida (2017);
  • Antioch, Tennessee (2017);
  • Arlington, Texas (2017);
  • Lyman, South Carolina (2016);
  • Winton Hills, Ohio (2015);
  • Conyers, Georgia (2015);
  • New Holland, South Carolina (2015);
  • Chicago, Illinois (2015);
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2015);
  • Darby, Pennsylvania (2015);
  • Chicago, Illinois (2014);
  • Portland, Oregon (2014);
  • Spartanburg, South Carolina (2012).

Over the years I’ve had plenty of people ask why I collect and use guns.  I’ve given a variety of answers, depending on who was asking the question and what their purpose was in doing so.  But the main reason I own and carry guns is this:  Because it suits me to do so.  As a law-abiding taxpayer, I require no other reason or justification  Anyone who thinks otherwise is certainly entitled to their opinion, but I am under no obligation to alter my actions even a bit because of it.