There was a shooting today at a Fedex facility in Kennesaw, Georgia. Six folks were shot. The gunman is dead.
I read an article posted in a Facebook group that came from Think Progress, a left-leaning group. The article is linked below but the comments at the end of the article were outrageous. Please take a moment and read the article and take a look at the comments.
Nobody is happy when something like this happens. It is a tragedy and as a society we need to work to find ways to reduce these heinous acts.
I also heard some pretty grim statistics today on crime in Chicago. One that stuck with me was that over 50 children have been killed so far this year. Chicago has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country, and yet we have had more people shot there in the last few years than we have lost soldiers in the war zones of Iraq or Afghanistan.
The gun laws in Chicago and Kennesaw are polar opposites. Clearly the size of the two cities are polar opposites as well. I am not comparing them directly, except to say gun crimes occur everywhere.
Kennesaw, according to the article passed a law years ago requiring its citizens to own guns. Kennesaw did indeed pass such as law but it was clearly unconstitutional and never enforced.
If I may over-simplify, there are only a few major groups that commit gun crimes.
Straight-up criminals use guns to rob 7-11's, liquor stores, and banks. They also rob homes and businesses. The gun is a tool of force they use to commit crime. Generally speaking they don't want to use it but are prepared to.
The second type involves thugs and gang bangers. They deal drugs and fight other gangs and might have initiations. They use guns for power and protection and occasional sport.
A third group is an eclectic group of loners and crazies and perverts. They may be suicidal or rapists/perverts/sadists. Maybe they are off their meds or maybe they never started. School shooters and such fall into this group as does the shooter in Kennesaw.
These lists are not scientific or exhaustive, but serve my purpose. You see, none of the above are going to follow gun laws. They are not disarmed by putting statutes in place. They steal guns and don't register them.
It is also true that a well armed population probably only deters the first group, and I am not certain of that. The third group, like the shooter in this case, is prepared to die anyway.
We have a right to own guns mainly to protect ourselves from our government but also to protect our homes and property. Gun owners are not going to be able to stop suicidal public shooters effectively any more than the police can.
Rational, law abiding citizens who own guns are not a threat to anyone. They are an asset.
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