The Hattiesburg Tornado and Self-Defense

With constituencies for both gun control and climate legislation each eagerly awaiting tonight’s second term lead-off State of the Union, this unfortunate aftermath photo from the Hattiesburg tornado is quite a mash-up. To the extent guns exist not just for sport but for self-protection, Mother Nature comes off as the much bigger adversary.

(photo: Chuck Cook/Associated Press caption: Charlie Ramp retrieved guns Monday from his home in Hattiesburg, Miss., after a tornado damaged the area Sunday. More than 60 people were treated for injuries across the state and 200 homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed, officials said.)