Self-defense

Self-defense is the right to protect a person or property from the unlawful threat or action of another. Self-defense is a long-recognized legal defense against prosecution for a violent or otherwise illegal act.

The use of private arms for self-defense accords was supported by the esteemed legal commentator Blackstone, which influenced thinking in the American colonies. He wrote that the people's right to arms was auxiliary to the natural right of self-preservation.

• Robert F. Williams wrote, "It has always been an accepted right of Americans, as the history of our Western states proves, that where the law is unable, or unwilling, to enforce order, the citizens can, and must act in self-defense against lawless violence."

Mental self-defense is increasingly cited for its importance in dealing with the media with all its exploitation, exaggerations, and fake news. This is particularly necessary when subjected to liberal falsehoods.

Armed self-defense

Ann Coulter wrote, "Numerous studies, including one by the National Institute of Justice, show that crime victims who resist a criminal with a gun are less likely to be injured than those who do not resist at all or who resist without a gun. That's true even when the assailant is armed."

See also

• List of state constitutions containing a RKBA provision
• Castle Doctrine
• Gun control
• Martial arts
• Armed self-defense