The barbarous attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, saw the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Virulent antisemitism has since increased here in the U.S. As a result, a sea change in attitudes toward gun ownership has begun.

The Talmud—the primary source of Jewish interpretation of the Torah—states: “If someone comes to kill you, rise and kill him first.” This clear commandment to defend one’s life with lethal force if so threatened is central to Jewish belief, namely that life is the most-sacred thing God has given us, and it must be protected from all threats.