Robb Allen points to a video showing a NJ corrections officer (off duty, at his home) repelling a potentially lethal attack, and does a rather nice fisking of one of the more common, snarky, misinformed anti-gunner arguments: the myth that a handgun won’t save you if the bad guy has the drop on you.

In all reality, producing aimed fire from a handgun is difficult. It takes practice. Not all the bad guys are going to launch a lethal shot before you can return fire. The officer in this case was hit, but in the ankle, and as such was able to return fire and defeat the hitman.

However, the antis want to tell you that you can defend yourself with sticks, bricks, knives, and your bare hands.

In some cases, yes, that’s true. But in other cases the bad guy who does have the drop on you won’t make that easy; in cases like these (as seen on video), you need to be able to project force from a distance, using a force multiplying tool like a handgun.