THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
(apologies to Keith Olbermann)
Larry Pratt, Ex. Dir. of Gun Owners of America
Gun control supporters have the blood of little children on their hands. Federal and state laws combined to insure that no teacher, no administrator, no adult had a gun at the Newtown school where the children were murdered. This tragedy underscores the urgency of getting rid of gun bans in school zones. The only thing accomplished by gun free zones is to insure that mass murderers can slay more before they are finally confronted by someone with a gun.
It was truly sad and offensive that the bodies of the murdered hadn’t even been removed from Sandy Hook Elementary school before gun apologists were using the tragedy to lobby for even more guns. Evidently, the thinking is that only when we’ve become Fortress America, where every good, God-fearing American patriot is armed and ready will Americans be truly safe and secure. Making matters even worse, a few gun apologists like Larry Pratt were placing the blame squarely at the feet of those advocating for gun control.
It seems that our failure to allow weapons into schools means that we- not those wielding the guns and pulling the triggers- are responsible for the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. If only we’d allowed teachers and administrators to arm themselves. If only we’d realized the fallacy of gun-free zones. If only allowed even more people to carry firearms….
The theory that more guns will provide more safety and security ignores the reality that a civilian is far less likely to hit their target and far more likely to injure or kill someone other than the person they’re aiming at. The beiief that arming teachers- and, really, anyone and everyone- will protect students and the general public is also a fallacy that refuses to die. More firepower doesn’t ipso facto translate to more safety and security. In fact, the odds of an armed civilian being in a position to stop a shooter bent on mass murder are minimal. There’s no empirical research that backs up the theory that more is better when it comes to firepower. This argument is a myth popular among gun advocates because it fits their preconceived notions. Unfortunately, their beliefs aren’t supported by the facts.
In Pratt’s case, his argument that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School could have been prevented is predicated on the idea that everyone who’s armed can capably handle their firearm and will magically and automatically react in an heroic manner. He also presumes that everyone will hit exactly (and only) what they aim at. What Pratt (and others like him) neglect to include in their argument is the truth that a bullet, once fired, doesn’t care who or what it hits. It’s trajectory and destination are limited only by physics and geometry. A bullet can’t distinguish the “good guys” from the “bad guys.” All more firepower ultimately represents is more lethality, which may or may not include the intended target.
Larry Pratt may have an unnatural affinity for weaponry, but his devotion to firepower and willingness to blame gun control advocates for Friday’s massacre in Newtown, CT, is as misleading and self-serving as it is incorrect. In Pratt’s case, his devotion to his version of the 2nd Amendment is as much about believing in the need for armed revolution and his hatred of government as it is about protecting the innocent.
Turning this country into Fortress America is not the answer, and if we’re going to debate gun control, how about sticking to the truth, which is that gun control works. The facts of the matter are inconvenient to those devoted to guns, but the truth is that more guns do not translate to more safety and security. Believing in the transcendent power of guns is not in and of itself sufficient to submerge the truth. No matter how much Larry Pratt may believe otherwise, an armed populace is NOT a safer populace.
Gun advocates have had years to demonstrate that more firepower means more safety and security. They’ve been proven wrong- dead wrong, so now it’s time to do things the sensible way and get weapons whose sole purpose is the destruction of human life off our streets. If we can’t do the right thing, then the people who died in Newtown, in Portland, in Aurora, in Oak Creek, and so many other places will have died in vain.
