One gun used to kill in ''gun free'' zone; another used to stop the madness
By Chad D. Baus
On Tuesday, February 13, it happened again. This time, the scene was a Utah shopping mall, and not unlike many other recent attacks like this, the perpetrator was a Muslim.
I am often drawn to write on these types of stories as they happen. But since February 13 was also the day of the Blizzard of 2007, I was otherwise preoccupied, and decided that since information about the shooting was coming in fast and furious in the first few days, I would avoid writing in the fog of war by waiting until after the fallout before gathering the facts together.
It's been a week now, and boy am I glad I waited.
Police say the incident will be used as a case study by other police departments. It deserves to be scrutinized by all of America. But there are a few reasons why that does not appear to be likely...
If you find yourself wondering why the attacker's name (Sulejman Talovic) is not yet a household word (ala Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris), and why this incident has not been turned into the Washington gun banners' latest example of "why we must get rid of the guns!" consider the following facts:
To truly use this incident as a case study, Front Site, Press writer "Syd" has the following suggestions:
- Some things we can do to make our public places safer:
- Break out of the denial. It can happen here. It does happen here. We face numerous threats from “new terrorists,” traditional terrorists, and garden variety criminals.
- Take down the stupid “No Guns” signs. They only stop the law-abiding from being able to defend themselves.
- Stop creating “gun free zones.” It’s a myth. Criminals don’t respect your signs and rules.
Stop stigmatizing legally armed citizens who choose to exercise their 2nd Amendment right to self-defense. Instead, acknowledge them as a valuable adjunct and support to local law enforcement. - If you can, get armed, trained and aware.
Carry your gun. It won’t do you any good locked in a cabinet at home. - Nothing will completely eliminate these sorts of attacks, but we can do something about their frequency and severity by being armed and aware.
Oh, I forgot one more…
Tell the blood-dancing Brady Campaign to go to hell.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Related Stories:
Op-ed: The False Hope of Gun-Free Zones
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