Packing for travel has taken on new meaning as more Americans arm themselves against rising crime before hitting the road. Who can blame them?
America’s murder rate jumped 28% between 2019 and 2020, recruiting police officers has never been harder, and the thin blue line is stretched beyond tipping points in many parts of the country — including some of our biggest Cities, and in these cities, there is no end to soaring crime in sight.
Many Americans have given up on the notion that politicians will solve their problems and instead are buying handguns for personal defense and learning to use them. Nearly 22 million Americans have concealed carry permits, and about 22 states have eliminated the need for carry permits entirely because these laws do nothing to stop criminals anyway.
According to Georgetown University political economist William English, guns are used in self-defense 1.7 million times a year in the United States. He commissioned the largest study of personal defense ever conducted in the United States. This statistic is rarely reported in the mainstream media. What worries many travelers in particular is the randomness of so much violence — surveillance footage of such attacks now flooding social media, a chilling reminder that the police are within minutes.
“You really can’t predict where crime is going to strike anymore,” said Dan Predovich, a former Colorado police officer turned private defense trainer. “Many people who take my courses have experienced the feeling of being helpless in the face of evil…they don’t want to be in that situation again.”
I recently traveled to South Carolina to shoot various pistols with Jens Krogh of Walther, a sharpshooter who has seen firsthand the fear of crime lead to a spike in gun sales.
“Many parents especially feel a responsibility to keep their families safe,” he said. “It could be criminals in remote areas, wildlife. Threats could come from anywhere, anytime.”
Walter is a 137-year-old German gunmaker whose brand is best known for his James Bond character, played by Ian Fleming. They are known to be some of the best made and most reliable pistols in the world – a convenient feature for those who buy them as life insurance of sorts.
While many Bond fans can bet that the charismatic Fleming character initially carried a Walther PPK (Polizei Pistole Kriminal) and later a Walther P99, few know how Fleming convinced Bond to take Beretta The backstory of the .25’s carrying parts replacement.
In 1956, a Glasgow guns instructor named Geoffrey Boothroyd, after reading the recently released Diamonds Are Forever, begged Fleming to reconsider his choice of guns for Bond. .25 Beretta.
“This gun is really a lady’s gun…” wrote Boothroyd. “May I advise Mr. Bond to bring a revolver?” Fleming was persuaded by Boothroyd that he should switch weapons.
“I would very much like to see him (Bond) live as long as possible,” Fleming replied. “I would be very grateful if you could provide any further technical advice.”
Other fans of Walther include Elvis Presley, who owned a car with the silver finish of “TCB” (Elvis’ favorite expression “Taking Care of Business”) PPK). Elvis Presley gifted a gold-plated PPK with an ivory handle to his friend and actor Jack Lord. Lord went on to play CIA agent Felix Wright opposite Sean Connery in Dr. No.
Whether buying a Walther or another handgun, one thing is for sure, says Mark Olivia of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, “more Americans are exercising their Second Amendment rights than a generation ago Much more.”
Nearly 35 million firearms have been sold since President Biden was elected, and the number of privately owned firearms in the United States is estimated to be close to 415 million, 171 million of which are handguns.
For those who believe the concealed carry movement is at the heart of curbing America’s crime surge, this is bad news for criminals — both at home and on the road.
