Remember the saying “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me?” It isn’t true. Just look to the “North to the Future” state for an example.

Alaskan Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott has resigned “due to inappropriate comments,” wrote the Anchorage Daily News. “Details about what Mallott said, and to whom, were not immediately clear, though Gov. [Bill] Walker described the remarks as inappropriate overtures to a woman earlier this week.”

In today’s politically correct climate, “inappropriate overtures” may have been something as simple as holding a door open for a woman or saying, “Yes, ma’am.”

For us gun owners and concealed carry promoters, the point is that our words — written and spoken — carry the potential for bruising court testimony if we’re ever arrested as a result of a self-defense incident.

I’m often guilty on this score.

Sure, every now and then I go too far with injudicious commentary on social media. But should I wipe my Facebook and Twitter accounts? Should I censor my speech and opinions, goofy as they sometimes are?

If I’m ever taken to court as a result of defensive shooting, I’m concerned that a clever attorney for the dead perp’s family might hold these things up and say, “This guy had a propensity to violence. He was ‘locked and loaded’ and ready to shoot someone. Therefore he, not the man he shot in supposed self-defense, is to blame.”

Words matter, and, in the aftermath of a self-defense situation, we might be happy that we exercised a judicious approach to online commentary. The world is watching … and listening. Sticks and stones…