More Guns, More Security, More Gun Control?

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I’ve been hit with dozens of texts and FB messages asking me if I finally understand the dangers of guns or asking me if more guns is the answer. And predictably, the media has started it’s assault on guns, highlighting how many people have been killed since the 1960s and the fact there are over 300 million, legally owned guns in the US. Well let’s let’s look at that for a second and review recent events to see if guns and CCW license are really the problem.

Out of 300 million guns, four guns and one man were involved in the commission of this crime.  If we assume that only 10 million people own all those guns, that still means that 299,999,996 guns weren’t involved in a crime at all.  Nor were at least 9,999,999 gun owners.  And if we add up all the mass shootings and all the guns used along with all the victims, distracted and drunk drivers use their cars to kill or maim many thousands more people annually and yet, we haven’t re-instituted prohibition, banned personal electronic devices that are usually the sources of distraction, let alone attempted to ban cars. Why, because magically, when the subject isn’t a gun, we’re able to apply logic and reason to realize it makes no sense to criminalize and demonize inanimate objects due to the decisions and actions of so few people.

Last weekend, we were all hailing the actions of Samuel Williams, a 71-year-old, Floridian with a concealed handgun license who was minding his own business in an Internet cafe when two armed thugs burst in. Sam produced his own weapon (a “measly” little .380) and took on the two aggressors without hesitation. The thugs immediately decided they had somewhere else to be and ran over each other trying to extract themselves from their intended victims.  One of the suspects later stated they’d targeted the Internet cafe, in part, because they didn’t expect any of their intended victims to be armed.

And then; yesterday morning, at midnight, James Holmes cached weapons and armor at an emergence exit for a theater that was specifically designated as a “gun free” zone.  He then bought a ticket to enter said theater, sneaked over to that exit to don his gear, and then proceeded to murder a dozen people and injure at least 50 others in a room full of unarmed victims. But, the moment Holmes faced an armed response, he immediately ceased all aggression and was promptly arrested by responding officers.

The consistent theme here is the cessation of aggression when shooters or would be shooters are met, not so much with authority, but someone who is willing and able to take them on.  It’s not as simple as saying more guns, but clearly more people able to respond in kind is a determining factor in whether or not shooters or would be shooters will continue their plans.  It’s a Utopian fallacy to think we can just ban all guns to put the genie back in the bottle.  But statistically speaking, one is far more likely to be injured or killed by a drunk or distracted driver than they are to be shot by a mass shooter or even an armed robber and there’s little real evidence that banning guns will change that.

Opinions will vary but, mine is that I’d much rather be able to defend myself against a mass shooter than be relegated to calling 911 and waiting to die until “help” arrives. While the Aurora PD deserves huge praise for what has to be a world record response time (under 90 seconds), the fact is, all the killing and shooting was done BEFORE they arrived.  And in this age of cell phones versus hard lines, you should experience calling 911 from your cell phone sometime.  Doing so can be an eye-opening experience with respect to how long it really takes to summon help.

-Gary

GOTR Thoughts on Aurora

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We’ve been a little slow to respond to this because there’s been so much misinformation that quite honestly, I needed time to collect my thoughts.  First and foremost, the folks in Aurora are in our prayers.  We’re glad to hear James Holmes is in custody but, that won’t bring back the souls that were lost or heal the wounds of those who have been shot.  We offer our deepest condolences and sympathies to Aurora community.

 

Obviously, everyone wants to know, “why?”  And I’m not going to be so pretentious as to suggest I know the answer beyond the fact that there are men who will do evil, simply because they can.  What is bothersome though, is that this has already started to become an exercise in finger pointing because as usual, it simply has to be someone’s fault other than the guy who actually committed the crime.  And as usual, guns are the scapegoat de jour with the film itself right behind them depending on the media outlet you prefer.

 

From what we know so far, Holmes would and did pass all background checks because he apparently had no criminal record other than a speeding ticket.  It appears that it was only in the last few months that he started shooting or acquiring firearms of any kind.   But curiously, it sounds like this incident was no surprise to his parents.  Not that we are blaming them but, that is rather strange.

 

Having said all of this, at the end of the day, the only one truly responsible for this tragedy is James Holmes himself.   It’s not the FFL dealers who followed the law or the firearms manufactures who have no more control over what Holmes did with their product than Hyundai had with his choice to drive one their cars to the theater in the first place.  Politicians and a significant portion of the public will demand that something be done about this and that someone be held responsible and because he did not kill himself, we have that opportunity.  James Holmes will hopefully, be tried swiftly by a jury of his peers and justice will be done.

Repost from A Girl And Her Gun: More Than One Way To Fight

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This is a post well worth reading for women and men alike. -Gary

http://www.agirlandhergun.org/2012/07/13/more-than-one-way-to-fight/

 

More Than One Way To Fight

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Last week I read an article by Greg Ellifritz about Timing during an attack. It’s a very good article and you really should read it.

Greg talks about his experience training people. He has found that many of them do not see themselves as worthy of defending. I have heard that from several other instructors as well, so I am sure it is true, but for me, that was not my issue.

You know I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why I didn’t fight back when I was mugged. During the process I heard this theory before, “people don’t think their life is valuable” and because I was so passive, I thought that must be what my problem was. “I can’t hurt him, so I must being placing a higher value on him than me.” Seems logical, but in my case it was something completely different.

I do not now nor have I ever had low self esteem. I have always, for the most part, liked who I was and I believed my life had value. What I didn’t understand was that it was ok to hurt someone in defense of that value. For me I had two factors at work. A very violent childhood that left a very nasty taste in my mouth.  I did not want any part of that life inside my home as an adult. I practiced a life of passiveness. I practiced it so long that it became how I reacted “instinctively.” I put that in quotes because I think people believe that instinct means only what you are born with and it can’t be changed or influenced, when in fact it can. Mine has changed drastically over the last 15 months.

The other reason is that I was raised to believe that in order to be safe I should do what the bad guy wanted. It wasn’t that the bad guy had more value, but my parents believed that if a person complied with the bad guy and gave him the car, money, whatever, then in the end the person’s life would be spared. They truly believed that. No surprise that my parents were raised in violent households. These things tend to get passed on. In their houses as in mine, the best way to deal with a violent, drunk, abusive parent was to comply. I didn’t think my parents had more worth, but I learned quickly that the punching stopped quicker if I just said nothing or promised to stop doing whatever pissed them off in the first place.

Not fighting back for me was the result of learned behaviors on how to survive a lifetime of violence, not as the result of thinking my life had no value.

The second part of the article talks about the knee jerk reaction of some people to believe that the gun is the be all end all answer to ever situation. I hear this all the time. People ask me why I bother carrying a knife or learning combative because the reason they carry a gun is to avoid all that other messy self defense crap. “I will just whip my gun out and blow their brains out.” Or maybe not.  I think training to be effective with your gun is paramount which is why I do it, but knowing when it might not be the best solution is just as important.

I make this claim all the time. No matter what if I am ever attacked again, I will fight back and I mean that. But to me “fight back” means make a conscious choices about how best to survive. It may be to wait or feign compliance. It may be to run, avoid, lie, pretend, punch, kick, shank, shoot, or all of those things, but regardless of what I do or don’t do, it won’t be nothing.

What I did in the parking lot was nothing.  Not because I didn’t punch and kick, but because their was no conscious thought.  I did not make a choice that said not kicking, not screaming, not fighting back is what will be best for my and my daughter’s survival. The problem wasn’t my actions or inaction, but it was in my lack of  thinking. I allowed him to be in full control. I never even thought of an option. I freely and willing handed him over my money, my body, my will without so much as a one second thought.  That is my definition of not fighting back.

In general I think most cases will require some action on my part. Running, screaming get back, or something more aggressive, but I may “fight back”, by choosing not to fight. If I see that as my best option, so be it, but it will be a choice as a result of doing something…thinking. Either way, the outcome is not guaranteed. The bad guy may get my money, my body, my life, but he will never again get my will.

Go read the article if you haven’t already. It just may help you survive or at the very least get you to think.