By Timothy Wheeler, MD
Paul Hsieh, MD
The psychiatrist Sarah Thompson, MD first wrote about herd immunity conferred on the general population by a small minority of people willing to accept the responsibility of concealed carry of a firearm for self-protection. Criminals hate the prospect of getting shot, and when they know a certain number of their potential victims are armed, they tend to look elsewhere for easier prey.
With the current measles outbreak, the public is getting an education in the principles of genuine public health, recalling a time when public health officials stamped out disease instead of grabbing our guns.
Herd immunity is the benefit of disease resistance in a population of people that benefits not only those actively immunized, but those not immunized. The immunity of sufficient numbers of the group reduces the likelihood that an unimmunized and vulnerable member will encounter a diseased member, thus contracting the disease. In this recent article in PJ Media, Dr. Paul Hsieh draws the parallel to concealed carry by the few providing herd immunity—protection from violent crime—to the many.
—Timothy Wheeler, MD is director of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, a project of the Second Amendment Foundation.