Shivanthi Sathanandan, the Second Vice Chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, recently endured a terrifying ordeal. She was brutally attacked in broad daylight in front of her children by a pack of violent carjackers. The incident, which left her wounded, is noteworthy given her support for defunding and dismantling the city’s police department, as many have pointed out. However, this story is also interesting from a Second Amendment perspective.

RedState’s Nick Arama reported that the vice chairwoman announced what happened to her in a post on Facebook:

Yesterday my children and I were violently car jacked in the driveway of our home in Minneapolis. Four very young men, all carrying guns, beat me violently down to the ground in front of our kids. The young men held our neighbors up at gunpoint when they ran over and tried to help me. All in broad daylight.

Look at my face in the picture. This is the face of a mother who just had the sh$t beaten out of her. A mother whose only thought was, ‘let me run far enough and fight hard enough so that my kids have a chance to get away.’ This is the face of a mother who just listened to her four year old daughter screaming non-stop, her 7 year old son wailing for someone to come help because bad guys are murdering his Mama in the back yard, her neighbors screaming in outrage... all while being beaten with guns and kicks and fists.

I have a broken leg, deep lacerations on my head, bruising and cuts all over my body.

She also seemed to take a different tone when it comes to coddling violent criminals.

We need to get illegal guns off of our streets, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city and HOLD THEM IN CUSTODY AND PROSECUTE THEM.

PERIOD.

Look at my face. REMEMBER ME when you are thinking about supporting letting juveniles and young people out of custody to roam our streets instead of HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS.

You could have been reading the obituary for me and my children today. But instead I'm here. To write this.

Look at my face. These criminals will not win. We need to take back our city. And this will not be the last you hear from me about this.

Along with her stance on law enforcement, Sathanandan has also espoused views supportive of the gun control movement, having made several posts on social media arguing for more restrictions on firearms:

Tell me again how you're "pro-life" but can't support common-sense gun legislation that would save our babies' lives. #Uvalde

— Shivanthi Sathanandan (@Shivanthi) May 25, 2022

As long as there are guns everywhere, our children aren’t safe anywhere. https://t.co/lbpsLeZy5x

— Shivanthi Sathanandan (@Shivanthi) February 16, 2023

Violent incidents such as this are undoubtedly traumatic – especially for a mother with children who witnessed the attack. But I can’t help but wonder: If she had been better informed on gun rights and the importance of being armed, would this situation have ended differently?

One of the primary reasons why people advocate for gun rights is self-defense. You never know when you might be in a situation similar to Sathanandan’s. In fact, it happens every day all across the country. Restrictive gun laws leave people more vulnerable to violent thugs who do not hesitate to violate these measures.

What is even more striking is the notion that someone would advocate for dismantling law enforcement while simultaneously arguing to make it harder for responsible citizens to keep and bear arms. It is already established that police can’t always be there to protect you. If this is true, and these folks want to do away with law enforcement, what sense does it make to also insist that everyday folks should not possess the means by which they can defend their lives and property?

It seems Sathanandan might be reconsidering her anti-police stance. But I wish Sathanandan had understood the value of being armed as well. Perhaps her horrible experience could give her cause to rethink her anti-gun stance as well.