Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
Thugs know when it is safe to attack the unarmed, when only the law abiding will leave their guns at home! Public officials always make the excuse, "cops cannot be everywhere." Yes. And that is why an armed and vigilant citizenry is and always has been the first line of defense against the criminal. It is not only our right to self defense but our duty to protect other citizens and the public order. Citizens were never meant to be passive, leaving the maintaining of all public order to an elite class of "sworn in" officials.
Once it is accepted that citizens are mere subjects, lacking the unlimited (Yes, our Constitution places no limits on armed self-defense!) right and duty to protect our selves, our families, our property and -- Yes!-- each other, then this is truly a police state tyranny. We should have never let it get this far. Thankfully, we are making inroads against the police state---- even winning Heller v. District of Columbia --- but we still have a long way to go.