Letter to Bryan
In response to Guns Everywhere as published on June 11, 8 a.m.
Bryan,
First, let me say that a good guy can indeed stop a bad guy with a gun as a St. Louis father did Monday night when two men held guns to his 17 year old daughter’s head. One of the gunmen was killed; he had previously served time for robbery. The other gunman was wounded and ran away, eventually ending up at an an ER where he was treated and arrested. His criminal history involved drug arrests, vehicle tampering, and a charge of murder. Despite the propaganda that a good guy has never stopped a bad guy with a gun by Shannon Watts and Moms Demand Action, good guys with guns can stop a bad guy with a gun. More false info being spread to the masses….
Do not believe everything you hear from gun control activists. This statement by Shannon Watts is pure propaganda!
Second, the licensed to carry gun owner, Mr. Joseph Wilcox, who was shot to death in the recent Las Vegas Walmart shooting deserves to have his name mentioned in your blog, considering you actually give press to those responsible. You mention that he was “potentially performing a heroic act.” Well, Bryan, I have to disagree with you. He did in fact perform a heroic act. Even though the active shooter, Jerad Miller, was demanding that Walmart patrons leave the store, there were still people inside, and as a licensed to carry gun owner, Mr. Wilcox’s first thought was to protect the innocent. I fail to see your point. Is it because he didn’t protect anyone and that he died? Why do you feel the need to sensationalize that he didn’t accomplish that? Mr. Wilcox acted responsibly and died a hero.
Too bad another active shooter was in the store and came up behind Mr. Wilcox and killed him. Let’s fault him for that and state that he failed at his attempt. I am sure that makes his family feel good. Rather, I am sure they view it as he was a good man that was trying to prevent others from harm, which is exactly what most concealed carry individuals want to do. Protect the innocent. It should not amaze me that a gun opponent can take that sentiment and twist it. There are plenty of other instances I am happy to share where a good guy does stop a bad guy with a gun. Let me know if you would like me to share those.
Mr Wilcox acted as a hero. He died as a hero. He is a hero. Period. Please do not take that from him or his family.
Compare statistics of the United Sates with those of the UK? So easy to do? No, let me say, no sir. It is not. Far too many variables. For the stats to be comparable to another country, all variables would need to be the same, otherwise, the stats are useless. They mean nothing. Our countries have similarities of course, but are not the same. You are passing along stats that are useless for a comparison considering the difference in our healthcare, government, pharmaceuticals, food, farming, education, media, etc. I can go on and on. We can look at food alone that is allowed in the United States compared to Europe and other countries. Huge, vast differences. Even our beer is full of crap compared to other countries. Have you been to Europe and tasted dairy? All the food and drink items we ingest that are different from other countries affect us and how we act. My point is there are several differences between USA and Europe.
One of the biggest commonalities in mass murders is in fact pharmaceuticals. Although guns have been part of our society for years, the drugs that are available now were not. Society is not the same now as it once was. Parents discipline their children differently. It once was common for children to grow up with firearms in their home; they were taught to respect them. If guns alone were the problem, why then, was I not subjected to all this violence when I grew up, where we as children had access to firearms? Your mention of culture was only statistics. The culture is the change in how children are disciplined, video games, movies, education, family structure, etc. Our culture and society also varies with other Countries. For years, guns have been a part of the everyday acceptance of firearms.
I’ll say it again, as I have before in Women and their guns: Deadly combination or empowered? and Was Chipotle right to ban guns from its restaurants? that the guns carried into Chipotle were not assault rifles. They are ARs. They are legal. The guns in Chipotle are no different than a semi-automatic handgun, albeit they are long rifles. A fully automatic weapon is illegal for the average person to possess, much less ‘carry.’ Furthermore, every gun proponent does not agree with the open carry and/or open carry of long rifles into a restaurant.
I find your humor here disrespectful to myself and other gun proponents, making it sound as if at any moment, we will all just start shooting to stand our ground, without respect to others. I pride myself on teaching others gun safety. I pride myself that I work diligently to share that knowledge and to teach others to: Know your target, know what is beyond your target.
Your post states that in the Vegas Walmart shooting, no crime was committed, where in fact, there was a crime committed even BEFORE the first shot was fired by Jerad Miler. Let me first point out that Jerad Miller was a felon. He was in fact committing a crime just with the possession of a firearm. He sought weapons out on Facebook. He was NOT your average citizen who obtains firearms and ammo legally. Although you are entitled to your opinion and your free speech on this matter, I guarantee that you, I, and the rest of us do not know the whole story at this time on where everything was purchased, but nonetheless, it is incorrect that there was not a crime committed up until the point he shot the officers.
Why you feel that “the NRA and plethora of gun proponents got what they wanted” is beyond me! This is certainly not my agenda, Bryan. I don’t know any of my friends who approve of a felon or mentally incapable person obtaining firearms or ammo for this purpose. Don’t put me in this category as a 2A proponent.
The easiest thing to do is blame. Mr. Martinez did this when his son was killed in Santa Barbara. He blames the NRA for his son’s death, although 3 other victims died from stabbings. Stabbing only. Were their deaths less valuable? Whether gun control activists grabbed this poor grieving father and lead him down this blaming path or it was his own belief, the media took this opportunity and glossed over the fact that others had died of the stabbings, spreading the propaganda that the NRA was responsible and gun control is necessary. The fact is that the shooting happened in one of the most stringent gun control states. Guns alone were not responsible for the deaths, or else the stabbing deaths would not have happened. I cannot imagine the pain Mr. Martinez has and the anger he feels as he grieves, but the gun was only a tool used in his son’s death, just as a knife was to the other victims. It is unfortunate and we need to understand why. It was a deranged individual that had it in his mind to kill others, and it is obvious to anyone with an open mind that the killer had his mind set to harm others, and the tool here is irrelevant. The fact that the gun control alone was hyped on this is just proof that people are lemmings. The easiest thing to do is blame guns, gun proponents, and the NRA. Even the NRA disagrees with those involved in the Chipotle open carry demonstrations.
Jump on the bandwagon and blame….It is one of the biggest problems with our culture today. We blame. When a child brings home a bad grade now, parents blame the teacher, the school. Seriously? We are responsible for ourselves. Don’t blame. Be accountable.
- Were the planes responsible for the 9/11 deaths? Of course not! Deranged individuals were. Should planes be banned? No. Make planes illegal? That’s silly, right?
- Are cars responsible for auto accidents? No. Either a person was texting, drunk, on drugs, or just plain had an accident. Should we ban cars because after all, people will continue to have accidents, drive drunk, drive while texting, and kill people. Let’s all give up our cars, make them illegal. Still silly?
- Let’s make drugs illegal. People die and overdose when they take illegal drugs. Oh, wait. We did that. But people still make them, sell them, and take them. A lot of good that did, right?
- Let’s make taking prescription drugs illegal unless you have a doctor prescribe them to you. Hmmm. This still happens too…… Why? People still obtain legal drugs illegally. Now, most law abiding citizens would not think twice about doing it, but it happens all the time… Illegal dispensing as well.
So tell me. Why does my being a proponent to legally own a gun allow these scenarios to happen? Bryan, are you responsible for others that kill in their automobiles? I’m sure you drive a car. I’m sure if someone wants to take that privilege from you, you would stand up and scream. Same thing. I’m screaming. Difference is…. my 2nd Amendment right is not the same as your privilege for a license and driving a car; you have to earn that privilege. My 2A rights are just that: my right as an American citizen. It is the same 1st Amendment right you have for free speech. Do you want to lose that too?
Let’s keep those rights. Let’s quit blaming. Instead, let’s look into why these mass murders are really happening. Take away the guns, without solving the REAL problems, the bad guys will continue to use guns (they will still get them!) and bombs, planes, automobiles, knives, etc. to carry out their senseless need to harm society.
It is delusional to think that gun control and/or taking guns away from the legal gun owners is going to stop the scenarios of felons and mentally challenged individuals from harming others. Those intent to harm are going to find a way; they will still obtain guns. Let’s focus on the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how.’ My desire to keep my 2A rights in no way means I condone the ability of those individuals to obtain and carry out these violent acts, nor should it mean that I should be held more responsible than you, a gun opponent for these acts happening.
Bryan – rather than having lines drawn in the sand and this continual opponent/proponent of guns, we would accomplish so much more by answering the questions above. I think for myself, and do not always agree with every 2A proponent, such as those who feel the need to carry rifles openly into restaurants.
I don’t want to be generalized as a gun loving extremist. I will also give that same respect to consider that those who dislike guns may not share the exact views you do. To continually divide ourselves in this manner is detrimental to our Nation.
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