Guns aren’t magic. Even if somebody had been armed, this guy would still have killed a number of children and teachers, and probably would have killed the person who tried to shoot him. Unless you’re a professional, you’re not ready for this...and even many professionals (cops, soldiers) get blown away.
So while I have no objection to average citizens being armed, it’s not going to prevent things like this. It’s not even a deterrent because these people usually want to die anyway.
The crucial thing is to get these people out of circulation. Every single one of the mass killings, except for those committed by jihadis, has been carried out by a mentally ill young man, obviously somebody with early adult or late adolescent onset schizoprhenia. They had almost all been under “treatment” and everybody was afraid of them, so it wasn’t like this was a surprise to anybody, particularly their families (and they often start by killing mom and dad).
I agree with what you say, however there are people like me (10 years as a soldier with 3 tours), that if in the right place at the right time, can make a difference, at the least the possibility would exist.
You’re right though, I don’t have any answers for how to find these people preemptively.
Speaking of whoraldo...he is on with OReily now talking about the guns.
Thanks largely to him...this nut was roaming free.
Ironic!
Agreed.
The constant refrain here of “someone carrying would have stopped this” is quite silly. That’s just speculation, although I’m not against people carrying.
It’s about time we return to the idea of “institutions”.
They are not magic, but they give you a chance. Many people have stopped mass shootings from taking place. As you said, these people want to die, and they usually give up at the first sign of resistance. Much of the blame for these events rests with the media, which create an anti-hero out of the perp. Our media has made fame a much more desired characteristic than morality. This is the result, and why these things tend to happen in groups.