Hysteria

Once again, we’re subjected to a wholesale attempt at passing the normal feel-good legislation regarding “bad” guns. Regardless of the final look of the legislation, it will do absolutely nothing to actually address the real problem — criminals who kill people.
Jeff Snyder, a renowned gun-rights thinker and author, is much more than someone who can quote facts. He pushes us to use logic — to think. Jeff says:

“But to ban guns because criminals use them is to tell the innocent and law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and the lawless, and that the law will permit them to have only such rights and liberties as the lawless will allow. For society does not control crime, ever, by forcing the law-abiding to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of criminals. Society controls crime by forcing the criminals to accommodate themselves to the expected behavior of the law-abiding.”

It’s true every time a criminal abuses a firearm, the rest of us — we law-abiding citizens — pay the penalty. And people are getting tired of that. As editor of American Handgunner, I get reader mail daily. Lately, I’m seeing a new trend: People who I would call very moderate, even a bit “left” of center are reaching out. They are no longer simply dissatisfied with the state of America today, they’re actually fearful of the government. Obama’s threats of using his Executive Order privilege to attack 2nd Amendment rights frightened many of my readers. “It smacks of foisting his personal agenda on the people of America, and we’re not going to stand for it,” said one reader. Politicians need to tread gently right now — and remember you’re right in the middle of it.

I expected the wholesale attack on our rights to occur after the latest shootings, but what I didn’t expect was the hand-wringing hysteria from the sheeple when many organizations — from the NRA to police agencies — said it was time to put a trained armed presence in our schools to combat the threats directly. I actually heard politicians and teacher’s unions say, “Putting more guns in our schools is not the answer!” One actually said, “What if the officer melts down and uses his gun to attack the kids?” How’s that again? Many actually don’t trust armed cops in our schools. Absolutely, ridiculously stupid at every level.

As cops, we’re used to stopping threats directly. We run toward gunfire — not away from it. Having cops in every school is a dream, I know. But the fact these antirights people don’t trust us really stuck in my craw, and we need to keep their attitude in mind as we negotiate the rocky road ahead. As a retired cop, I’d volunteer to spend time in a local school anytime I was asked. And I’d bet you would too. If a thug came into a school your kid was at and a retired cop was there to meet him head-on, I know you’d be thankful. I would too.

How dare they question our effectiveness, trust or abilities — and that speaks volumes about who they think they are. Stay the course on this one ladies and gents, stand up for the rights of citizens — and think about ways to face those threats. Innovate. Tackle the problem. It’s your job.
By Roy Huntington