The NRA is stressing the import of self-defense preparedness by noting “when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.”

Their point is no slight against police. Rather, it is a real-life observation that attackers, robbers, and other criminals do not often strike in a way that gives us time to dial 911 and wait before the crime is completed.

You don't get any do-overs when faced with evil. You have the right to self-defense – why not utilize it? #2A #NRA pic.twitter.com/VaG8tSka8G — NRA (@NRA) November 13, 2018

Enlightenment philosopher John Locke made a similar with his writings in the 17th century. Les Adams’ Second Amendment Primer quotes Locke saying: “ “[Private persons] have a right to defend themselves and recover by force what by unlawful force is taken from them. [One may kill an aggressor where there is insufficient time to appeal to the law, for] the law could not restore life to my dead carcass.”

Locke’s point, much like the NRA’s, is that there often is not time to wait for the magistrate or for the police. Instead, life must be defended immediately or it could be lost.

The NRA followed up their tweet on self-defense with a tweet focused on Patrick Henry’s mantra about preparedness:

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.