What Stops a Bad Guy with a Gun?
I would like to propose a scenario for you.
For the sake of argument, let’s just say the gun control people get every item on their gun grabbing wish list. We then have a ban on 151 different weapons deemed as “assault” weapons or in some way “militaristic.” Larger magazines are a thing of the past and every firearm has a clip that can only house 7 bullets. Every weapon is registered and no citizen own one without going through a strenuous background check. Gun shows are no more and private citizens will have to go through a 3rd party dealer to sell their own property if it happens to be deemed a weapon by our federal officials. Let’s say all of the other laws that gun control advocates would want to pass, trampling on the 2nd Amendment as they go, are signed into law.
James E Holmes, the Aurora theater shooter, targeted the only theater within 20 minutes of his apartment which had a public gun-free policy.
My question is simple. Will you then be able to guarantee tragedies like the ones in Sandy Hook, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora and the other horrendous tragedies would never happen?
If you are answering honestly and with consideration of all the facts, the answer is no. You would never be able to make the claim that a child would never again be killed or that a mass shooting would never occur. The fact is that you can never fully stop evil from being evil. No laws can protect you from the obsessions of a person who is set on doing the unthinkable to you or I.
In Sandy Hook, the shooter Adam Lanza, broke 50 laws before arriving at the school and murdering those children and administrators. To take it one step further, murder is already a crime that has yet to stop these massacres from happening. Enacting more laws will not persuade the reprehensible form happening as it is only the law abiding citizens that will follow the laws. In essence we are just stripping the rights of the well meaning citizens to try to control the actions of the uncontrollable. If there was a law that would eliminate evil people form taking the life of another, the laws and strict penalties against murder should suffice.
According to the FBI, you are much more likely to be killed by hammer than the rifles that are proposed in the ban and nearly 59.8% of all shootings in America are actually suicides. Even if we just look at mass shootings, we can see that when there are individuals allowed to carry firearms the number of deaths goes down. The average number of people killed in mass shootings when stopped by police is 14.29. While the average number of people killed in a mass shooting when stopped by a civilian is 2.33.
Adam Lanza broke over 50 laws before he fired the shot.
We have to understand that facts of these mass shootings. A staggering figure (and one not reported in the mainstream media) is that in at least the last 20 years every one of these tragedies, except for the shooting of Gabriel Giffords, have been in a gun free zone. In fact the shooter in Aurora, Colorado, James Homes, went 20 minutes away from his home (passing several other theaters playing the same movie) to choose a theater that was specifically “gun free.” What we are creating with “gun free zones” is more like “victim zones” for the defenseless.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. That may be a simple way of saying it but when we look at all of the facts it just makes sense. In the case of these mass tragedies the only defense we have is self defense and the defense of those around us. The gun control advocates will tell you to call 911 when faced with a life or death situation, however, they won’t tell you that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled the police are under no constitutional duty to protect you, let alone that it will take time for them to arrive.
As a gun is being fired at your family do you want to rely on calling 911, waiting the 5-30 minutes to arrive and stop the person shooting or would you rather defend your life, family and property swiftly?
I am not advocating that we have armed guards in school by any means. I am simply proposing the opportunity of choice. Schools could decide to allow some teachers or faculty (with extra training) the choice to carry a weapon. The concealed carry process can be made easier to allow for the wider choice of the people to be armed. It is this choice that will make us more safe. A person poised on harming another will not have the foresight into which person or location could bring resistance. There will be no more “victim zones” and every person will be on a level playing field as far as self defense goes. Every one has a shot at surviving.
Evil, obsessed with carrying out evil will never be completely stopped but only with true freedom do we have a chance at saving ourselves and the ones we love.
About the Author
Alex Snitker
As a United States Marine veteran, Alexander knows how to serve his country. That dedication to his country did not end when his service in the military ended, as he became the first Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate from the Great State of Florida. He learned many lessons in that time as a senate candidate and uses them daily to help other liberty candidates run for elected positions around the state.
Alex’s work in politics does not end with campaigns and he is a founding partner of the 1787 Network and co-host of the Liberty Underground radio show. He uses this platform to educate and empower individual to engage in the political process on the local level as well as bring his listeners the news and other important information that is missing in today’s media. He is deeply involved in the Libertarian Party of Florida and the Executive Director of the Save America Foundation.
Born in Iowa, Alex moved to Florida at a young age and grew up in New Port Richey. Today he still lives their with his wife Kelly and their son Michael. He is passionate about bringing liberty and constitutional principles back to the state that he has called home for so many years and where his family still remains. He is well known for his activism and lobbying efforts especially within the local area.
Why did you use a screen clip of a man with a German NS style flag?