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Amidst the many acts of courage and kindness we have witnessed during Los Angeles HellA dark side of human nature also emerged with increasing cases of looting. Unfortunately, in the anti-gun state of California, homeowners are left with few self-defense options.
The police have already charged more than one 20 people with loot. One mischievous pair went so far as to dress up as firefighters to help themselves transport valuables to victims whose homes had been abandoned or destroyed.
Burglars disguised as fire officials and utility workers to loot abandoned homes in Los Angeles
It's clear that as the winds continue to fan deadly fires around Tinseltown, all resources, including the police, are stretched to the breaking point, providing the hard-hearted thieves with a target-rich environment for their crimes.
The only thing these Los Angeles thugs can count on is that if they encounter a homeowner in the middle of their looting, there is little chance that person will point a gun at them.
A firefighter jumps a fence while fighting the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, January 7, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)
And in the free state of Florida, where the Second Amendment protecting gun rights is revered rather than defamed, would-be thieves know, after hurricanes, for example, that stealing from the wrong house could be a death sentence.
They know this because Gov. Ron DeSantis told them so after thousands of homes were damaged by Hurricane Milton last year.
“If you go to someone's house after the storm passes and think you're going to be able to commit crimes, you're going to get into really serious trouble.” “Quite frankly, you don't know what's behind that door in Second Amendment jurisdiction,” DeSantis promised.
Listen, listen.
There are actually two ways unarmed people in Los Angeles are at risk through the Golden State's strict gun control laws. The first is that individuals are unable to protect themselves and their property, but the second, and perhaps worse, is that criminals are well aware of this.
When we think about the reasons behind the Second Amendment, we often note that it is intended for self-defense, and also to check the power of the government. But in California, we see a third reason, which is exactly this kind of emergency.
Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd has issued a warning to thieves trying to take advantage of areas affected by Hurricane Milton. (Fox News Digital)
Angelenos don't need weapons to overthrow their government, not yet anyway, but they do need them to hold down the fort, or home, so to speak, while the government pours all its resources into disaster management.
In fact, when you look at gun ownership rates by state, rural states like Montana have the highest number of guns per capita. This is precisely because while government protection in the form of police in the city is always minutes away, in rural areas it often is not.
This is exactly where Los Angeles residents find themselves today. City and state governments are overwhelmed, people need to protect themselves, and short-sighted anti-gun policies prevent them from doing so.
That's why we're seeing reports that some wealthy people in Los Angeles are paying for private security to protect their homes, which I think is great if you're a millionaire, but if not, it leaves you more vulnerable.
Frankly, in many cases, all it takes to dissuade would-be thieves from rolling the dice with their lives is a handful of openly armed men on neighborhood watch patrolling their neighborhood.
But the progressive leadership in California, which, by the way, also has armed protection at taxpayer expense, will not allow the average citizen to protect his family with his own gun.
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Progressive gun policies like those in California, like many other progressive policies, aim to make citizens weaker, more vulnerable, and more dependent on the state. This is on display openly and clearly in Los Angeles today.
Hopefully, once this state of emergency ends, Californians will realize how important their gun rights are and demand their restoration. Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands are simply helpless.
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Los Angeles County District Attorney Nate Hochman was elected to get tough on crime. Here is his first chance. If a city does not allow its citizens to protect themselves, the punishment for plunder must be heavy, as in years of imprisonment.
But frankly, this is not and will never be an adequate alternative to an armed population, which is precisely what the Founding Fathers understood when they enshrined our God-given right to gun ownership.
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