In Milan this weekend, a 22-year-old Italian-born son of migrants allegedly plunged a knife into a 55-year-old man twenty times, then bragged to arresting officers that he “had fun” and planned to repeat the spree once released. The attack underscores a grim European reality: when law-abiding citizens are stripped of effective self-defense tools, predators operate with near-impunity, turning everyday streets into hunting grounds. Italy’s restrictive carry laws leave ordinary people with little more than hope that police will arrive before the blade does, a gamble that failed spectacularly for the victim.

For the American 2A community, the Milan stabbing is a textbook illustration of why the right to keep and bear arms is not a theoretical luxury but a practical necessity. European nations that traded individual armament for state promises of safety now face rising migrant-linked violence and repeat-offender recidivism, yet still double down on disarming their own populations. The suspect’s chilling promise to “do it again” exposes the limits of relying solely on after-the-fact prosecution; an armed citizen on the scene could have ended the assault in seconds rather than letting it reach twenty stab wounds.

The lesson for U.S. gun owners is clear: every new restriction proposed in statehouses or Congress inches us closer to Milan’s model, where the only armed party is often the criminal. Maintaining shall-issue permitting, constitutional carry, and the broader ecosystem of training and culture that surrounds the Second Amendment is the most direct way to ensure that “I had fun” never becomes the last words a victim hears.