Halted Gun Sales in Louisiana

From the Boston Globe:

"Baton Rouge, La.--As fearful residents rush to stock up on guns, Wal-Mart, one of the region's biggest suppliers, abruptly stopped selling them at 40 stores throughout the Gulf Coast."

I can't blame Wal-Mart for stopping sales, though I don't agree with that decision. People buying guns for protection who have never owned or used guns is asking for accidents and, this being the USA, guaranteeing lawsuits.

The problem of not being able to get a gun at the moment someone feels the need for one is a problem of failure to plan. People who think they might someday need a gun should not wait for a crisis. They should buy guns when their lives are normal and learn how to use them safely when they are calm and rational.

Expecting to buy a gun after the gunfight begins is like expecting to buy fire insurance after the house catches fire. It's like scrambling to fasten a seat belt after the oncoming car crosses the centerline. It's like wanting to buy cheap life insurance after being diagnosed with cancer. It's like trying to get a life jacket on after the canoe capsizes in rapids. It's like...

More from the Globe:

"One mother came in [to a gun store] to buy her first gun after she and her two children [...] witnessed a slaying on the streets of New Orleans. [...] 'I was a card-carrying, antigun liberal--not anymore. [...] I'm going back home, and I am not going back unarmed.'"

Great line, bad situation. A frightened, agitated citizen with a gun she is not familiar with.

By the way, it's okay to be a liberal and own guns.