What is happening in Southern California? In a state that prides itself on progressivism, residents are now resorting to arming themselves and hiring private security to protect their homes from a relentless wave of burglaries. This isn’t a scene from a movie—this is real life in Encino, a neighborhood in Los Angeles where fear has gripped the community, and with good reason.

While anxious homeowners are taking matters into their own hands, what are Governor Gavin Newsom and the California State Legislature doing? Rather than addressing the crime wave head-on, they are leading a campaign to make it even harder for law-abiding citizens to own firearms. It’s as if our state government is completely disconnected from the reality that people are living in fear, tired of being tormented by criminals who seem to have free rein in their neighborhoods.

Californians have had it with the excuses. They are tired of hearing that the media is overhyping the crime problem, tired of being told to “cool the temperature” on their concerns. The reality is that crime is not just a statistic on a report—it’s a lived experience that has driven many to the brink of desperation. When residents of Encino are considering buying guns and hiring armed security, it’s clear that the state’s soft-on-crime stance has failed miserably.

For too long, California’s leaders have flirted with policies that prioritize the rights of criminals over the safety of law-abiding citizens. We’re told to have compassion, to understand the root causes of crime, to support rehabilitation over punishment. But when do the rights of the victims come into play? When do the people who are trying to live their lives, raise their families, and protect their homes get the attention they deserve?

But here’s the thing: when the government fails to protect its citizens, those citizens will take matters into their own hands. And who can blame them?

When you’re living in a neighborhood where break-ins are rampant, where armed guards are becoming a common sight, and where even walking your dog feels like a risky endeavor, the right to self-defense becomes not just a right, but a necessity.

The situation in Encino is a microcosm of a larger problem that’s plaguing the entire state. Crime is on the rise, and the response from those in power has been tepid at best. The residents of California are fed up with leaders who are more concerned with political optics than with the real issues at hand. They don’t want more excuses; they want action. They don’t want softer sentences for criminals; they want justice. They don’t want to hear that crime is down in some statistical sense; they want to feel safe.