Okay, I think I finally have got to concept figured out –
All it takes to stop a bad man with a gun is a good guy with a gun… …as long as he is at the exact right place at the exact right time and is willing to risk his life in a shoot-out with someone who might be wearing body armor and have an assault weapon and who, as a good guy, is an extremely good shot even under a threatening situation with his own life at risk, aiming at perhaps a moving target and not hitting any innocent bystander with stray bullets, provided that any number of other good guys with guns aren’t there, as well, shooting from many other directions and not hitting anyone else in the surrounding area with the cross-fire, so that when police arrive they can figure out who the good guy with the gun is – or who the good guys also all shooting are – and who the bad guy with the gun is. Got it. I think. That’s what gun advocates think is The Solution to gun violence in America. Where 1-1/2 mass shootings take place every single week. Because that’s more likely the situation that takes place when there is a shooting. What also was confusing and not thought out was if there was only one good guy with a gun, safely roaming around by himself, his eyes peeled for that bad guy with a gun – or if it was an entire town of good guys with guns, everyone entitled to carry and roam around, looking for the first sign of trouble where they could all begin blasting away from wherever they are. Neither scenario by itself made sense to me as being a resolution of anything, just as merely “All it takes is a good guy with a gun, without knowing more about who that good guy is, and how many good guys there are shooting into the crowd. But now that I’ve figured out what the actual statement should be…then it at last makes sense. And I finally see how truly crazy instance and pathetic the lunatic idea is as The Way to Stop Gun Violence. Just to be clear – Every country in the world has video games. And violence on TV and in movies. And mental illness. And schools with more than one door. And a core desire of its citizens to protect themselves and their families. And yet only the United States has 1-1/2 mass shootings every single week. No… other… country… in… the… world. And then throw into the mix this conundrum: because of gun laws in all other countries, none of these other countries have good guys with guns at the ready to shoot the bad guys with guns. And yet without having those good guys with guns – every other country still is able to manage without having 1-1/2 mass shootings each week. A good guy with a gun is not the solution to gun violence in America. Nor is having schools with just one door. Or fewer video games. Or only happy movies. Or more mental health care. By the after writing a brief posting on social media yesterday about this position of the potential of too many "good guys with guns" causing total confusion and bullets flying everywhere at innocent bystanders, I received a reply from Mark Follman, the national affairs editor at Mother Jones, an expert in the field whose latest book Trigger Points is about specialized teams of experts working to prevent mass shootings. He wrote back, "correct. A scenario that is, unfortunately, becoming more likely." The country will begin to solve gun violence in America when the U.S. sees how it works in the rest of the world. And at the very least has fewer assault weapons on the street and stronger gun reform laws. There. I’m glad I finally got it figured out. It starts with hoping you're in the right place at exactly the right time -- and praying that there aren't two dozen other good guys with guns all firing in a circle at the same time creating deadly havoc. And then builds from there...
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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