Advancing You Shooting Skills
By Ron Mullins and Thom Bolsch
It happened again. Twice! Someone that had legally purchased a firearm entered a soft target location and murdered people. Seniors in one location, children in another.
We wrote about mass killings in 2018. And unfortunately, we will most likely write about it again.
There is a cry for the White House, Congress and Governors to “do something”. The only thing that they can do is legislate laws. The rules of socially accepted behavior.
In addition to the cry to do something; there is a whirlwind of comments in the media on gun control and the appeal of the Second Amendment.
First; with a free society, it is up to the individuals of society to voluntarily comply and abide by the laws of society. The government cannot legislate against evil or stupid; nor can it compel someone to act or behave in a particular manner!
Compliance with the law is an individual determination. And we witness daily that people do not voluntarily comply with the law.
Second; regardless of what people want to think, that ten pounds of metal, plastic and wood does not operate autonomously. While you can buy an automobile that can operate independent of a driver; there is no such thing as an autonomous firearm!
For a firearm to operate it requires someone to pick it up, load it, aim it and pull the trigger. It is not the firearm that is perpetuating the attack; it is the misguided or malicious person holding the firearm that is at the foundation of the assault – the killings.
Returning to public shootings; adding new laws to what is already on the books will not change the dynamic that results in a public shooting. A troubled person, looking to resolve their troubles with violence is not thinking rationally and will not comply with socially accepted behavior. Regardless of what new laws are written, they will not prevent another mass killing.
Considering the Second Amendment; should it be repealed? We’ll say this as emphatically as we can: ABSOLUTELY NOT!
While there is a lot of conjecture about the Second Amendment being written for firearms of the 1700 and not today’s firearms or to provide supremacy for whites against slaves; the truth about that amendment is that it was written to provide the citizens of this nation with a means to protect themselves from a threat to their freedom and independence from either a foreign or domestic actor. And let’s point out that the wording prohibits our current government from enacting laws that remove that ability to provide such protection.
We ignore this consideration at the risk of our own demise. Saul Alinsky was the author of “Rules for Radicals”. Alinsky was a student of Lenin and the communist doctrine of social order.
In “Rules for Radicals”; Alinsky outlined eight levels of control that must be obtained in order to create a socialist state. Level four is to remove the ability of the population to defend itself from the entity looking to take control. Opening the door to establish a police state. By The Way: Level eight is Class Warfare; think gun control is just a response to mass shooting? There is no such thing as a coincident.
The debate should not be about firearms, or guns. It should be about the level of unacceptable behavior the public tolerates today.
Legislating a bunch of new laws restricting gun acquisition and ownership will not change the dynamic of the complexity of emotional challenges in our society.
Let’s point out the obvious: IT’S ABOUT VIOLENCE; NOT THE GUN!
Telling law abiding citizens that they can no longer own something will not prevent a troubled soul from seeking out the tools they need to resolve their troubles with some form of violence.
Continuing with the public shootings; who do we blame? The families of the victims, the media and elected officials want to blame someone. They turn to law enforcement; it’s not their fault. The look to the gun industry, it’s not their fault. They turn to the school system, it’s not their fault. So who do you blame? Blame belongs to the individual and the environment that ignored that individual’s emotional issues. Where was responsible adult supervision as these individuals grew up? Who failed to instill the core values, ethics and morality our society expects of responsible adults?
Who turned a blind eye to indicators that hint at emotional stress and trauma?
In all cases, a background check is required to purchase a firearm from a licensed gun seller. The background check is only as good as the data reported to authorities compiling the information for the background check. Did those responsible for monitoring and reporting the mental health of the suspects fail society?
There are so many questions that go unanswered. In the one instance; how did an 18 year old get over three thousand dollars to buy two rifles and no one questioned the expenditure or motive?
Did society fail the suspects and by proxy the victims?
The dominos were falling and no one noticed.
Are we still asking if this is a “gun” issue?
Maybe it’s a parenting issue or maybe it’s a village issue (you know “it takes a village”).
It could be an issue of character; but most likely a result of emotional challenges or trauma. With that as a foundation; what red flags should have been noticed and reported; preventing the legal purchase of the firearm?
Without advanced psychological training, the average person would not be able to distinguish someone living with an emotional challenge from someone that is not. But someone close to that person would see signs; tell-tells of the troubles they have with life and living.
If we are serious about protecting society and our children from the acts of those who cannot or will not comply with socially accepted behavior; our objective should be to raise our children to be responsible, law abiding adults as well as listen without judgement to emotional issues when expressed. We should be honest about recognizing the signs and seeking help and we should hold those that do not comply with socially accepted behavior accountable for their actions. And obviously, we should harden any facility we don’t want targeted.
A movement to restrict firearms is NOT the solution.
We pointed out the following in our earlier article from 2018. Had any of these issues been employed; maybe the latest school shooting would have been avoided:
- Have a single entry point and install enhanced security measures at every entrance and exit to the school building
- Install cameras at entrances and in the hallways – and have them monitored
- Bring armed security into the school building (willingly armed and TRAINED teachers and staff or independently hired and TRAINED security)
- Establish an emergency response and lock down plan
- Hold parents and students accountable for actions – punish bad behavior
- Accept that teachers are there to teach; parenting is NOT their responsibility
- If our children are worth everything, why are schools so underfunded?
- Get involved in your child’s life as a parent, know them as individuals, and get to know their friends and their friend’s parents
- We’ll add one more that seems to be an issue: DO NOT PROP OPEN A DOOR
As mentioned earlier; it’s not a “gun” issue; it’s a heart, personality or character issue. You can remove the “gun” from the equation; you’ll still have socially unacceptable behavior; it will just be executed with a different tool or a different means to obtain that tool.
Stay Alert, Stay Safe,
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