Salena Zito: For many, owning a gun was taboo. Now they re buying them. | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In response, Jews like David who never once considered handling a gun in their entire lives have been signing up for gun safety classes, either in groups or in one-on-one sessions at local ranges across the city and the region. And buying them, as are many other Americans.
According to the FBI, more background checks on gun sales were run this October than last October. The National Shooting Sports Foundation reports over 1.3 million gun checks, an 8.3% increase over the same period in 2022.
Larry Anderson, a security professional who began his career decades ago as a certified shooting instructor, said he began gun safety and handling instructions here in Squirrel Hill recently because of the spread of interest in self-protection in the community; his first class was almost exclusively women.
The class was free. I did it for free because it is a way to give back. It s a Tzedakah, he said, using the Hebrew word used for charitable giving. He s adding dozens more classes because of demand.
Jews should absolutely own guns. So should Christians. You’ll probably never fire a shot in anger or fear. But just in case.