"Ask the Rabbi" by R. Mermelstein

Are their specific areas in the talmud where the great Rabbis said it was correct for a pious Jew to have a firearm? If so, which parts of the Torah and Haftorah do they refer to?

L'Shanah Tovah!

ANSWER: Dear sir,

The Torah, which the Talmud explains and amplifies, is clear in the matter of self defense and the obligation of individuals to protect their lives. This is the foundation. A fire poke or a pipe wrench may well serve in some instances to defend life and limb. Obviously, they were not designed for that task. Firearms are more efficient. If the aggressor is armed with a firearm, using a like implement in defense is merely evening the odds. Jewish law, perhaps unlike civil laws regarding use of lethal force, does not place the on us on the victim to prove that the use of a firearm was justifiable, only that the attack was unlawful and unprovoked. The Sages of the Talmud did not conceive of firearms. Self defense and personal preservation have been necessary from day one. There are numerous references in the Talmud to the use of weapons by Jews to defend lives. (See on this website an article I wrote entitled "Carrying Weapons on the Sabbath"). If the Talmud condoned the sword as an appropriate tool for a Jew to defend lives, the firearm is simply the modern equivalent. I find no contradiction between a religious Jew and firearms ownership. To the contrary, in spite of many who may disagree, I am firm in my position that piety encompasses upholding the Torah's obligation upon Jews to protect their lives. If it takes a firearm to obey this requirement, I'm at a loss to comprehend any arguments that guns are "un-Jewish". A firearm may very well be the tool by which one will stay Jewish for many more healthy years.

Sincerely,

R. Mermelstein