The Alaska Territory government is urging its residents to arm and prepare.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly voted Tuesday to encourage its residents to own guns and ammunition, linking the need to rely on the Second Amendment to an increase in crime and a scarcity of state troopers, according to Alaska Public Radio.
Assemblyman Ron Bernier said the resolution was introduced to address crime issues, especially in remote communities.
The sprawling town is located northeast of Anchorage.
Last year, state Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell cited trooper recruitment as a problem, and at the time, there were 11 vacancies in the patrol detachment covering the area.
However, Bernier said that regardless of the strength of the state police force in the area, he would support arming residents.
He pointed out that other communities in America are urging residents to arm themselves, pointing out the importance of safety courses and firearms training.
“The first defense will be you,” Bernier said.
Republican state Rep. Kevin McCabe said that amid concerns he hears from constituents about the lack of law enforcement in the area, he supports the resolution.
The resolution supports “appropriate and responsible gun ownership.”
“Residents of the Matanuska-Susitna District may provide for emergency management in the District, provide for and protect the general safety, security and welfare of the District and its residents, and every eligible resident residing in the District is encouraged to maintain a firearm with ammunition,” the resolution read.
She also noted that “the right to bear arms predates the United States of America and predates the Constitution of the United States.”
The resolution also stated that “the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the government from violating the pre-existing right to bear arms.”
In an op-ed on RedState, town resident Ward Clark said the decision was very much in line with the adage of transporting coal to Newcastle.
“Spoiler: This is Alaska. Almost everyone is already armed. “Here in town, even the hippies have guns,” he wrote.
“It's not that we're worried about crime. You never know when a moose might get aggressive or a hungry black bear might decide to make a foraging run in your pantry. We all have guns, and what's more, we know how to use them.”
“Alaska, like everywhere else, certainly has its bad actors,” he wrote, “but it has been shown time and time again how armed citizens are one of the best crime deterrents, and not just here in the great land.”
Clark noted that gun ownership in Alaska makes sense.
“Alaskans tend to be very practical-minded people. It would be difficult to live here if one did not have a solid and good foundation in practical matters,” he wrote. “Taking responsibility for your own safety, whether it is from two-legged predators or a Four-legged, he's part of that.”
Maybe that's why you don't see a lot of car thefts or home break-ins in the great land; A shooting, after all, can ruin a criminal's entire day, and in Alaska, betting on your chosen target being unarmed is really not the smart way to do it.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
