Time for San Francisco to look to its future

Two articles that should be read back-to-back: Debra Saunders' article discussing the fact that, if the NRA's judicial challenge is unsuccessful, law-abiding citizens in San Francisco will be forced to turn over their weapons. My favorite quotation:

The NRA's Chris W. Cox argued that Proposition H stands to "send a very clear message to the criminal element in San Francisco, that lawful residents in San Francisco are unarmed and unable to protect themselves from criminal attack."

Cam Edward's article about the crime rate in Washington D.C., a city that has banned legally owned guns for thirty years. My favorite quotation:

What does stop a criminal? Evidence suggests even more than increased police patrols, the fear of an armed citizenry makes a criminal have second thoughts. A number of studies dating back to the 1980’s indicate a majority of criminals say they will not engage in a criminal act against someone they believe is armed.

My confession? I'm terrified of guns and don't own one. However, I'm hoping to benefit from "herd immunity." My analogy here is to disease control. As you know, not everyone needs to be vaccinated against measles. You simply need a critical mass of vaccinations to make it impossible for measles to take hold in a community. In the same way, I want guns to be legal in my community so that a critical mass of upstanding community members can own weapons, making it more difficult for crime to take hold in the community. Once you ban guns entirely, your immunity vanishes, and all you can do is sit back and let the gun violence virus begin.