Posted on 06/20/2015 9:41:46 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
While it may be weeks or months before we know the full details of Dylann Storm Roof’s alleged attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., the early reports are both heartbreaking and infuriating. Roof allegedly entered the church, attended a Bible study, sat next to its pastor — state senator Clementa Pinckney — and then opened fire. It’s hard to imagine a more callous and profane act.
It appears that the shooting was quite deliberate. He’s said to have reloaded five times during the course of the attack, allegedly even taking the time to talk to his victims. According to the New York Times, he said: “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.” If these reports are true (again, it’s early), Charleston, S.C., has just suffered a race-motivated terror attack.
As I read the news and watched the coverage, I felt stricken for the victims, fury at the attacker, and more than a little personal conviction. Not because of any silly notions of collective white guilt or other nonsense peddled by the radical Left — and certainly not because I’ve long opposed the Left’s gun-control efforts and supported the individual, inherent right of self-defense, including the right to keep and bear arms. No, I felt conviction because of the numerous times that I’ve walked out of my house unarmed and thus largely incapable of defending myself — and, more important, others — from violent acts.
Perhaps I chose not to wear the right kind of clothing — pants that allow me to conceal my carry pistol, for example. Perhaps it crossed my mind to carry, but I thought, “I’m not going anywhere dangerous.” The men and women at the Emanuel Bible study probably didn’t think they were in any danger, either. When we go to the movies, or a political rally, or show up for work — or go to any of the sites of recent mass shootings or other acts of violence — danger is generally the last thought on our minds.
Yes, I know the chances of violence on any given day or at any given location are vanishingly small. Yes, I know that even if I’m traveling in higher-crime sections of my community, the odds are overwhelmingly good that I’ll be fine. But I know this: If the unthinkable happens, and I watch as my family, my friends, or even members of my community I’ve never met are hurt or killed when I could have prevented it by carrying the weapon I’ve trained myself to use, I could never forgive myself.
Don’t just carry. Don’t just go to the state-mandated training, buy a weapon, and then forget about it. Unless you train yourself to use it, that weapon would probably be less useful to you in an emergency than a similarly weighted rock. At least you’d instinctively know to throw the rock. Practice with a handgun until you can take it from a position of safe carry to active engagement within seconds. Then practice that again until you’ve beaten your best time. Then practice again. And realize that practice isn’t a burden but a joy. Most people who go to shooting ranges enjoy the experience. Even gun-control activists often grudgingly admit how much they like the simple act of taking shots at paper targets.
None of this, of course, guarantees your personal safety. None of this guarantees that in a moment of maximum stress that you’ll make the right decision. There may come a day when an active shooter immediately guns down a concealed-carry permit holder and then continues with his rampage. Even though — as an Iraq vet — I’ve had far more training than the average American, I still don’t know how I’d respond to any given crisis until that crisis is upon me. Fight or flight is a call that has to be made in the moment, based on the totality of the circumstances. But a gun does give you options, and those options could well mean the difference between life and death, between one reload and five reloads, and between a clean conscience and a lifetime of guilt and pain.
BTTT !
“Charleston, S.C., has just suffered a race-motivated terror attack.”
Why try and call it crap like that? Just call it what it was: a deranged psychopath went on a murder spree, and unfortunately nobody put him down.
His problem is he’s a lying coward murderer.
If he actually wanted to go after the scumbags that actually do rape white women and commit crime and murder,
he picked the exact opposite demographic to go after.
But cowards are bullies and he picked on unarmed black Christians instead, the people so not doing the things he’s insane about.
They are not in the 3% demographic that he should have dealt with, and they’d have probably blown each other away. He’s such a wuss he wouldn’t pick the correct folks to go after because he may have had to die for his convictions. So he knew he’d find good people instead and be able to do this to unarmed people.
We would of had a dead bad guy, and would not have to listen to endless calls for more inane gun control.
Couldn't happen as they were in a "Gun Free Zone". And I would bet that, sadly, every victim agreed with that city ordinance.
What I don’t understand is this.If he had to reload 5 times, why didn’t anyone rush him. He was a small guy, hell I bet even some of those 6 women he shot could have tackled his ass.
Who brings a gun to church?
It’s a sad day when we do.
The people who do bring guns to church are CCWs or off duty police/military who haven’t had time to change out of their uniform. Still there’s no clear cut easy defense against at least the early shots, and there’s a risk that even defenders will put bullets in bystanders as well. But this kid was a coward. IMHO, somebody needs to let the inmates of whatever prison he goes to know that he is a black child killer, then see how long he lasts in there.
In most of the evangelical & charismatic churches I know of, the leadership and ushers are armed.
Yep
“Who brings a gun to church?”
Me.
L
I wasn’t there, so I really hate to 2nd guess the victims, but if, “He’s said to have reloaded five times during the course of the attack, allegedly even taking the time to talk to his victims,” then it sure seems to me that someone could have attacked him.
We all know that if somebody is well armed and prepared to shoot people, he will kill a certain number before he can be stopped.
One or more of the victims could have been armed, but killed before they could draw.
Better that chance than be a sheep led to slaughter. Are firearms repugnant to you or something?
Don’t worry about it too much.
youre gonna rush somebody with a Glock 45 caliber?....really?
Between reloads and you KNOW he is hell bent on killing everyone, Yeah!
he originally wanted to attack the community college,,,,,,,,he changed his plan and why??....the college had ARMED SECURITY!!!!....one victim was a state senator...no security?...not in this day and age. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah has layers of armed security now...
If there is a place my weapon is not welcome I take that to mean I am as well.
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