A Handgun is No Longer Enough: The Evolving Standard for Armed Self-Defense

The Sovereign Citizen and the Imminent Threat

The right enshrined in the Second Amendment was not a mere allowance for hunting or personal security; it was a profound constitutional imperative designed to ensure the survival of the republic.

Our Founding Fathers deliberately vested the ultimate responsibility for public safety and the nation’s defense in an armed, prepared citizenry they called the American Militia. They understood that the collective strength of the people, armed with common, readily available firearms, was the most resilient check against tyranny, invasion, and civil catastrophe.

As Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story stated, the right to keep and bear arms “has justly been considered as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers.” Furthermore, James Madison argued that an armed citizenry, trained and ready, is “the best and most natural defense of a free country.” Their intent was clear: a free state is secured by a citizenry that is equipped to defend itself against the three distinct threats of tyranny, foreign invasion, and domestic unrest.

Today, this core mandate remains profoundly true, especially in the face of alarming official warnings. The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) recently issued a sobering advisory that the U.S.-designated terrorist group Al-Qaida and its Yemen-based affiliate (AQAP) remain intent on striking America. This is not a theoretical threat; it is a live intelligence concern.

READ MORE: US National Counterterrorism Center warns of threat from al Qaeda

This reality has been sharply articulated by law enforcement leaders. My local Butler County, Ohio, Sheriff Richard K. Jones, reflecting on warnings from the FBI regarding imminent terrorist threats, stated, “The terrorists are here… it is just a matter of time before they attack. The national government can’t take care of it all. There are more local police than the FBI. It all comes down to preparing for it.” To meet this level of threat, preparation must surpass outdated standards.

READ MORE: Butler County sheriff calling for change after national sheriff conference

The PSA JAKL 9 Pistol

The Political Divide and the Call for Enhanced “Firepower”

The intelligence community’s grave warnings paint a picture of sophisticated, coordinated domestic threats that demand proportionate civilian capability.

The threats detailed in recent advisories include:

• Targeting Soft Sites: Explicit guidance to local authorities to deploy visible law enforcement at soft targets like sporting events and concerts.
• Targeting Infrastructure: Reports citing sources that terrorists have scouted medical facilities in major cities (including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles) to cripple trauma centers and compound casualties.
• Impersonation and Secondary Attacks: Warnings that terrorists plan to acquire police and EMT uniforms to impersonate first responders, allowing them to redirect panicked crowds and launch secondary strikes.

It is against this terrifying backdrop of coordinated, high casualty terrorism attacks, designed to defeat existing security and cripple emergency services, that, in my view, will certainly be attacked.

As some scream for gun control, I advocate for more guns and more “firepower” in the hands of trained, law-abiding citizens. I stand by the Founders’ logic: escalating threats require a proportionate response, and the time for minimizing our effective defensive capability is over.

For decades, the handgun stood as the undisputed standard for the armed civilian. Its concealability and simplicity made it the go-to tool. However, with the rise of threats requiring rifle-level engagement, the handgun has moved from being the standard for a civilian armed citizen to being viewed as the minimum effective tool for defense. Sheriff Jones himself demonstrated this shift by immediately equipping all his department’s cruisers with rifles and “go bags” in response to terror warnings. We, as armed defenders of freedom, must do the same.

The prepared citizen must now acknowledge the limitations of a handgun and understand when and why a long gun, or specifically, a compact AR-style platform is a necessary component of comprehensive preparedness to uphold the Founders’ vision.

The Limitations of the Handgun in Modern Threats

The escalating scale of mass violence and terrorism quickly exposes the handgun’s inherent limitations, demanding a proportionate response from the citizen defender:

This outlines three major limitations of the handgun when compared to the rifle-caliber threats encountered in modern, high-intensity scenarios:

• Weapon Disparity/Armor: Standard handgun calibers are ineffective against rifle-rated body armor, which is a likely component of coordinated terror attacks; conversely, rifle-caliber rounds are required for any chance to defeat or penetrate common levels of armor. A rifle versus armor is your best response.
• Range and Accuracy: A handgun’s effective range suffers drastically beyond 20-30 yards, while active shooters can engage accurately at much greater distances with rifle platforms that are easier to shoot accurately under stress.
• Engagement Duration: The handgun’s low capacity (typically 6 -17 rounds) and frequent reloads limit sustained defense, whereas a 30-round rifle magazine offers a decisive advantage in managing the prolonged engagements required for a sustained terror attack. This comparison leads directly to the necessity of the AR Pistol platform.

The AR-Style Pistol: The Necessary Force Multiplier.

The AR-style pistol is the critical bridge between the concealability of a pistol and the power of a rifle, providing a Personal Defense Weapon capability where a handgun is inadequate:

Close-Quarters Dominance and Home Defense

The compact nature of the AR pistol excels where a full-size rifle is unwieldy:

• Maneuverability: Its shorter overall length (often 18-25 inches) allows for rapid, safe movement in the tight confines of a home, apartment, or vehicle.
• Superior Control: Like any long gun, the AR pistol provides multiple points of contact – stock to shoulder, cheek to comb, front hand on handguard, and hand to grip – providing a significantly more stable shooting platform than a handgun that provides only one or two points of contact (your hands). An AR pistol retains the stable shooting platform of a long gun and the inherent low recoil of the AR design, enabling better accuracy and faster follow-up shots than a handgun.
• Lethality and Safety (Ammunition Dependent): Rifle-caliber rounds (commonly the Remington .223 in the case of the AR-15 platform), when using specific defensive ammunition (like hollow point, soft-point, or polymer-tipped rounds), often fragment or tumble upon hitting drywall, counter-intuitively losing energy faster than some slower handgun rounds, which can punch through multiple interior walls.

READ MORE: The Benefits of Frangible Ammunition: Safety, Efficiency, and Practical Applications

However, users must be aware that military-style Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) ammunition for the .223 caliber will still easily pierce several interior sheets of drywall and retain enough energy to cause serious bodily harm or death, and poses a higher over-penetration risk. Therefore, choosing ammunition specific to your defensive environment is paramount.

READ MORE: Recommended Types of Ammo to Minimize Drywall Penetration

Vehicle and Mobile Readiness

The AR pistol is essential for mobility and readiness in uncertain environments:

• Concealed Carry Under Law: Classified as a “pistol” in many jurisdictions, it can often be carried under existing concealed carry laws, allowing for accessible storage in a vehicle or backpack where a rifle would be illegal or impractical.
• Vehicle Readiness: It can be securely and discreetly stored, providing paramount speed of deployment during a vehicle-based threat. Be sure to know local vehicle storage laws, especially in areas where you are unfamiliar.