February 23, 2012 11:08AM # Courtland Milloy’s Self-Defense Quiz By [Tim Lynch](https://www.cato.org/people/tim-lynch) --- SHARE *Washington Post* columnist Courtland Milloy mentions the new Cato study, *[Tough Targets](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=14031)*, in his latest [column](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/is-carrying-a-gun-the-best-way-to-protect-your-iphone/2012/02/21/gIQAXx86RR_story.html). The article begins with this self-defense quiz: > Say you’re sitting at a bus stop in the District, alone at night, when a suspicious person approaches. There have been more than 475 robberies in the city this year — a 70 percent increase over this time last year — and many involve the theft of electronic devices such as smartphones. > > > But your chances of being victimized are greatly reduced because: > > > a. Your smartphone has a disabling device that makes it worthless to robbers. > > > b. More police officers have been assigned to street patrol. > > > c. You have a gun. The local police chief says the correct answer is (a) & (b). In the comment section, however, an astute reader notes that the correct answer is *all of the above*, including Milloy’s point (advanced at the conclusion of his article) that “risk avoidance” should be a part of a sensible personal safety plan. ##### Related Tags [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).