In light of the recent campus shooting in Oregon,
I am reminded what a Russian truck driver told me when I asked about the many
guns in America and if it
bothered him seeing they can't have guns in Russia. "In Russia,
when we want to kill someone, we use a hammer."
If someone is bent on killing people, they will find a way.
This mass shooting in Oregon
happened in a gun-free zone. No one except law officers were allowed to carry a
firearm on campus and the college had voted one cop was enough. A 30.06 sign banning everyone else from
carrying a firearm insured the shooter would not be immediately stopped. All
the sign does is make concealed handgun license owners as vulnerable as those
that hate guns and just as helpless.
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| Chris Harper-Mercer |
Our own police department views CHL carriers as augmentees
and force multipliers in the event that the police department or an officer is
overwhelmed. Look around your social group as an example. Many people you
associate with carry a weapon, but you never see it and often times enjoy your
own safety knowing Uncle Bob has his gun. I have carried a firearm for over ten
years and I’ve never shot anyone.
When you live in a society where deranged or ideologically
motivated people commit these types of crimes, putting up a sign is about as
effective as swinging a feather at a cannon ball. Our President can issue a
statement on his frustration over and over again and it will continue to propel
the idea that guns kill people instead of people kill people.
Changing the second amendment of the Constitution and
removing the inalienable right to protect yourself, is not going to stop a
single deranged or misguided criminal from shooting up any place where people
congregate. Here in an area where 6 million people rub shoulders, we are seeing
more and more examples of CHL holders fighting back and that sure beats the
alternative.
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