As anguished voices call for policymakers to do something, anything to rid us of gun violence, the respectful conversations I had at Get Loaded demonstrate why eliminating guns is a nonstarter. For gun enthusiasts, the answer to the kind of tragedy that has become all too commonplace is more guns, not fewer…. “The biggest problem is that it was a gun-free zone,” said Get Loaded owner Terry McGuire, 49, a bald, burly guy who looks as though he would be right at home among the many cops and deputies to whom he caters. “You aren’t allowed to carry guns into county buildings.”
It’s as predictable as it is facile, simplistic and just plain wrong: gun violence erupts, and before you know it, Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes © are blaming it on “gun free zones.” They honestly seem to believe that, studies and all objective evidence to the contrary, that “more guns means more safety.” It’s a blatantly inaccurate talking point repeated so often by so many that it’s become an article of faith.
I’ve written about this many times in the past, so I don’t intend to revisit that argument again, but the fact of the matter is that Proudly Closed-minded Gun Control Foes © assume that the mere fact of having a gun presumes that someone in a mass shooting scenario will act promptly, resolutely, and appropriately. The odds against that are long, because as anyone who’s ever been in combat can tell you, being under hostile fire is horribly chaotic, disorienting, and terrifying. As a rule, people in those situations, especially untrained and inexperienced civilians, cannot and do not react as one might expect.
The “Only a good guy with a gun….” argument aside, the saddest part of this article was this vignette:
A few minutes later, we were interrupted by a customer who wanted to order pink parts for an assault rifle he was building for his daughter.
“She turns 21 at the end of next month,” he said, “and that is her present.”
Welcome to modern-day America, a country so thoroughly addicted to an inaccurate, self-interested interpretation of the 2nd Amendment that giving your daughter an assault rifle- a weapon whose only purpose and raison d’etre is to destroy human life- as a birthday present seems perfectly appropriate.
Is it any wonder why I fear for the future of our Republic?