There are crazy people, evil people, and monsters among us

I got asked again recently why I carry a gun and I still get asked on occasion by my more liberal or left-leaning relatives, friends, and colleagues, why I carry a gun. It’s not because I’m scared. Not because I’m paranoid. And not because I have some fantasy about defending myself. I carry because I know evil exists and I won’t let it take the people I love without a fight.

Because of my background in martial arts, many of my more liberal minded friends have asked, “Why do you need to carry a gun, you’ve had a lot of training to defend yourself?” Sure, I’m fairly confident one-on-one when no one is armed. But I cannot predict if the threat may be armed or it might be two or three-on-one. I am not letting myself or my loved ones be killed without at least an even chance. I have no problem putting myself in harm’s way to protect my loved ones.

On November 20th, 2025, in Tiffin, Ohio, a small town of about 17,000 people, a mother went to her home around 6:25 p.m. to collect her personal belongings because of an ongoing domestic violence situation. She was accompanied by a 29-year-old friend and father of her oldest child (7-years old). She thought her 42-year-old husband, and father of their 7-month-old baby, was working out of town. She did not know he had surreptitiously come home and parked his car around the corner. When she and her friend were in the house gathering her belongings, she heard the 7-year-old scream. They ran outside. Her husband was in the driveway and opened fire on her friend. He then shot the 7-year-old and their 7-month-old baby. He shot the friend again and then shot himself. He and the baby died at the scene and her friend and 7-year-old died later at the hospital. Who shoots anyone in such a situation, let alone a 7-year-old child and a 7-month-old baby? A crazy, evil person. That is why I carry.

Your local TV news, newspaper, and the internet are filled with stories of crazy, evil people doing unimaginable and violent things. As recently as this past July 5th in my small rural community, at a “Movies in the Park” family event, a 22-year-old young man was shot and killed. They arrested three suspects – two are 18 and one is 19. Within the last few days, they arraigned three juveniles (17, 15, and 15) in Las Vegas for killing a 19-year-old woman in a park. These three had gone into the park with the intention of robbing people and when this young woman resisted, they killed her. This is why I carry.

A quick Google search of violent crimes returned a laundry list of random shootings and evil people doing what they do in nearby Las Vegas, including a roadside argument that resulted in an 11-year old child being shot and killed, a 41-year old man shooting and killing the mother of his two children, and a man shooting his girlfriend and taking her two children. I don’t have to mention such places as Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles – the news seems constantly filled with evil people doing violent and bad things…and that’s just the ones that make the news. Having worked in the legal business for over 40 years and having volunteered at the Sheriff’s Office in my community for many years, I’ve seen too many instances to count of evil happening that just don’t get reported. Oftentimes, it is random and violent. If I could predict when it might happen to me or someone I love, my carrying a gun habit might be different. But the world does not work that way. That is why I carry.

I see only two paths in life. You can accept that evil exists in the world and be prepared or you can pretend it doesn’t exist. One of those paths gets people killed on a daily, if not hourly, basis. I’ve heard it said that you have to be your own cavalry; you need to be a protector of your children, spouse, and loved ones. I’ve said and written this before, it’s an oft used cliché but very, very true…when seconds count, help is minutes away (or hours in some instances). While masculinity gets mocked today and being a protector (male or female) gets laughed at as some outdated notion, I don’t care what other people think about me or how I decide to live my life. I go back to Rhett Butler’s ending line in Gone with the Wind, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

I carry a gun because I value the life I have and the people I love will not be taken from me by some crazy person or random act of violence without a fight. I am not willing to die politely. Evil is real and I believe being a protector is everyone’s responsibility. Evil does not announce itself; it doesn’t wear a sign saying, “Here I am, watch out.” I want to be trained and I want to be ready. The mother in the story above will have to live with this horrific story for the rest of her life. Her friend died unable to protect himself, his son, or the 7-month-old baby. My point is not that he should have had a gun (but wouldn’t it have been nice if he did); my point is that you or I should not have to live with the regret of being unprepared. I’ve heard many people say that they could not kill another person, even if their life were in danger. I see things differently. If some crazy person threatens the life of my wife, my son, or me, I have no problem taking that person’s life before I see my loved ones killed. Life is fragile. Evil is real. Be a protector.


Jerry Hashimura
Pahrump, NV 

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