Lock Your Doors & Load Your Guns: Calif. City Attorney Tells Residents to Be Self-Reliant Following Cuts to Police Force (+video)

The bankrupt city of San Bernardino, Calif. is so cash-strapped it has been forced to slash public safety budgets just to stay afloat. That includes downsizing the police force.

During a city council meeting this week, Jim Penman, the city Attorney of San Bernardino, told residents to “lock your doors and load your guns” because they will need to start protecting themselves due to the diminishing number of cops on the streets, CBS Los Angeles reports. It is the perfect example of why self-reliance is so important — because when the government can’t protect you anymore, you have be able to protect yourself and your family.

Penman has been criticized by some for his brutally honest statement but he is standing by it.

“You should say what you mean and mean what you say,” he said.

The comments came after about 150 concerned residents attended a city council meeting to express their concerns about a number of recent crimes in the area, including the murder of an elderly woman last week.

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