A Citizens' Army in New Orleans

Time Magazine featured an article with this headline in the latest issue: A Citizens' Army in New Orleans. Despite the cool headline, it wasn't much of an article, although New Orleans Police offered stellar advice like this:

...in a holdup, a gun-waving victim is more likely to end up shot than one who simply hands over money... Then there's the possibility that a gun will be stolen and used in other crimes.

So, even though the National Guard and State Police have been patrolling New Orleans, and even though they have the highest per capita murder rate in the nation (53 murdered since the beginning of the year), the best advice is - don't arm yourself?