I realize we may have discussed this earlier, but why does their Torah learning not protect them? And if they don’t learn, why not the learning of others in their area (similar to the IDF)?
People using guns who haven’t learned how to use guns are probably more likely to shoot themselves (hopefully only in the foot) than to shoot a robber or terrorist. What would be interesting to know if those hareidim who are buying guns are the ones who also want to serve in the IDF (in which case, no problem since they learn how to use the guns in the army) as opposed to those who have been trying to tell the Arabs to leave them along since they want to be neutral (which doesn’t seem to work since most Arabs appear unable to tell the difference between a zionist and an anti-zionist).
akuperma – And those who were in the IDF probably don’t buy into the theory that learning protects oneself from enemies. Good point regarding stam Charaidim who wouldn’t know how to use or clean/store a handgun shouldn’t buy them.