This article by Second Call Defense Co-Founder and criminal defense attorney Sean Maloney was first published on Ammoland.com.
The right to keep and bear arms is not an outdated relic of the 18th century, as the anti-gun zealots want you to believe, but a safeguard of liberty and self-preservation.
Critics often portray the Second Amendment as a barrier to public safety, yet both history and reported weekly self-defense incidents confirm otherwise. The truth, when the media chooses to report these incidents, clearly establishes that our GOD-given right of self-defense remains a vital protection for all Americans, especially the weak and vulnerable who would otherwise be defenseless.
The Supreme Court has made clear that the Second Amendment protects an individual right. Our friend Dick Heller’s case, District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), in which the Court struck down a handgun ban and affirmed that self-defense lies at the very core of the right to bear arms. That recognition was extended to the states in McDonald v. Chicago (2010) and reinforced again in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), which held that firearm regulations must be consistent with America’s historical tradition of gun ownership. The Court recognized that targeted restrictions are possible, as shown in United States v. Rahimi (2024).
This understanding reflects a much older truth: the right to defend one’s life is God-given and natural, not something granted by government.
The Virginia Declaration of Rights
From John Locke’s writings on natural law to the Declaration of Independence’s recognition that men are “endowed by their Creator” with unalienable rights, the Founders understood that life cannot be secured without the means of defense. The Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776 directly tied the right to arms with personal and communal security. To disarm the people, in their view, would be to strip them of the very ability to preserve their lives and liberties.
These principles are not abstractions or the result of paranoia; they are seen in the lives of ordinary Americans who have relied on firearms to save themselves and others. These examples that the media often choose to ignore are far more common than reported.
- In 2022, a young man in Indiana stopped a mass shooting at a mall within seconds, preventing untold carnage.
- In 2024, 85-year-old Christine Jenneiahn, beaten and tied up by a home invader in Idaho, managed to reach her revolver and fatally stop the attacker, saving herself and her disabled son.
- Across the country, armed school staff and resource officers have done the same for children: in 2024 at Apalachee High School in Georgia, two SROs rushed toward an active shooter armed with a rifle and put him in custody within minutes, saving lives.
- In 2019, at STEM School Highlands Ranch in Colorado, a private security guard detained a shooter during an attack, preventing further bloodshed. And in 2021, Sarasota County Officer Mary Thoroman calmly disarmed a student concealing a handgun in school, using training and quick judgment to prevent what could have become another tragedy.
The power of firearms is at its best in empowering the strong and leveling the field for the weak.
An elderly widow, a disabled veteran, or a single mother cannot hope to fight off younger, stronger aggressors with fists or sticks. A firearm, however, gives them a fighting chance. It is the equalizer that ensures no American is too frail, too old, or too outnumbered to protect their own life.
Readily available evidence supports what common sense makes clear. Studies by criminologists Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz estimate that Americans use firearms defensively more than two million times per year, usually without firing a shot. The simple display of a firearm is often enough to deter crime. John Lott has shown in More Guns, Less Crime that areas with shall-issue concealed carry laws experience reductions in violent crime, undermining the argument that more guns necessarily mean more violence. Even the Centers for Disease Control and the RAND Corporation, often cited by skeptics, have acknowledged that defensive gun uses are significant. However, estimates vary widely, mostly due to the underreporting of brandishing incidents where attacks are stopped without firing a shot. Recent studies published found that millions of Americans report using a firearm for self-defense at some point in their lives, confirming that this is not a rare phenomenon, but unfortunately, at times, a routine part of American life.
Critics such as Harvard’s David Hemenway argue that defensive gun use is exaggerated and that firearms cause more harm than good. But these claims once again do not take underreporting into account, since it has been established that many lawful gun owners do not report defensive incidents to police out of fear of the legal quagmire, which often results. They also ignore the comparative scale of harms: accidental firearm deaths, while tragic, statistically seldom occur, compared to the estimated hundreds of thousands of defensive gun uses.
When measured honestly and accurately, the benefits of lawful gun ownership far outweigh the costs.
The Second Amendment also carries practical implications for some of society’s most sensitive areas. Nowhere is this clearer than in the debate over armed teachers and staff. Critics worry about risks, but parents and educators understand a sobering reality: when a shooter enters a school, seconds count, waiting minutes for police is too long, and too many of our children die. The examples from Georgia, Colorado, and Florida show that armed and trained defenders already save lives in schools. Expanding armed teacher programs like FASTER Colorado to allow trained staff to carry is not reckless it is a moral imperative.
The Second Amendment matters today for the same reason it mattered in 1791: government cannot always protect you, but it should never prevent you from protecting yourself.
It affirms the dignity of every individual, not only the strong, but especially the weak and vulnerable. It deters criminals who must now wonder whether their next victim will be armed. It also connects us to a tradition of liberty that recognizes self-defense as the foundation of all other rights.
Far from being obsolete, the right to keep and bear arms is the safeguard of every American’s life, liberty, and security. It is the people’s ultimate guarantee that their most basic, God-given right, the right to live, will never depend solely on the mercy of others, and will never be surrendered without a fight.
About Sean Maloney
Sean Maloney is a criminal defense attorney, co-founder of Second Call Defense, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is a nationally recognized speaker on critical topics, including the Second Amendment, self-defense, the use of lethal force, and concealed carry. Sean has worked on numerous use-of-force and self-defense cases and has personally trained hundreds of civilians to respond safely and legally to life-threatening situations. He is a passionate advocate for restoring the cultural legitimacy of the Second Amendment and promoting personal responsibility in self-defense.