Nikolas Cruz: Another American Tragedy

IT IS NO SECRET THAT I AM NOT A MAN OF FAITH. I am not necessarily a true atheist in the purest sense of the word. I am simply one who does not proclaim to have the answer. But when we have an incident like the Las Vegas shooting, and the most recent school shooting in Florida, and untold numbers of multiple shootings that have occurred in the past, it always begs one lingering question for me.

HOW COULD A GOD WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE LOVING ALLOW HIS "CHILDREN" TO BE TAKEN IN SUCH A VIOLENT WAY?

I understand the argument that many Christians make about free will, and the forces of evil which drive madmen to construct and employ their mayhem. But I am still left with the thought that somehow, in some way, a God would intervene before innocent life is so violently left for dead.

Whenever something like this happens I am both saddened and sickened by it. It just seems so pointless to me. And it seems that there will always be a story to be retold time and time again.

Truly unfortunate in the course of these events as well is how many people, especially on the left, will immediately come out to proclaim that we need more gun control. Those of us who rely on logic to drive our thoughts and decision making know all too well that gun control is not the issue any more than the lack of it is the issue.

The simple truth is that what we need more of are responsible gun owners with concealed and open carry who can be welcomed into our everyday environments who could be armed and ready when the need arises.

You may not stop all deaths. But certainly someone with a gun can stop a madman with a gun much more quickly. The entire concept of a "gun free zone" has always been silly to me, at best. How does a rule or a sign stop a gun-toting maniac from entering a gun free zone with a gun? The travesty is that there may be responsible gun owners in the very classrooms being shot up who are hunkered under their desks while their guns are safely stowed in their cars in the parking lot.

What we also know about gun control in general is that when you put laws in place to make purchasing guns more difficult it only stops the responsible gun owner who will never shoot a soul. The criminals intent on creating mayhem will get their guns one way or the other. And let's bear in mind that the black market that gets created is also a very violent place.

Think back to the days of prohibition.

What else is truly sad here is that while so many on the left will make the discussion about the guns, what gets lost is the cause. We need to be open about what is happening in our society that causes people to do this sort of thing. Can you stop even that? Maybe not. But at least if there is a discussion on the issue, it's going to be a much more honest and productive one.

Whatever the case, all one can do is feel for the families who are dealing with, yet again, terrible tragedy and loss.

Mass Shootings Unaffected By Gun Control Laws

I am as tired as anyone should be over the string of mass shootings which have taken place over the years. The latest rampage at the Planned Parenthood facility notwithstanding. But what I am more tired of is of the discussions that occur following these heinous acts.

Gun control.

We have to keep one very important fact in mind as we try to figure out what we do to prevent or try to stop the carnage and bloodshed. Controlling guns will not do anything to solve the problem. In fact, it could actually hinder the effort.

Let's be very clear what gun control is about. It is not about protecting normal people from crazed maniacs. It is about controlling the law abiding public and making it more difficult for them to legally obtain and carry firearms which could potentially effectively neutralize a threat posed by any crazed maniac who comes into a building with evil intent.

Granted, there are some instances where someone is able to legally obtain a gun who ultimately turns around and uses it in a crime. You can't predict when a normal person is going to snap. But the bulk of these acts are conducted by people who have their guns through other means—the black market for example.

What are two "solutions" that I think we have empirical data to prove are ineffective? Gun control and so called gun free zones. In nearly every instance of these heinous acts the establishments were gun free zones. All a gun free zone means is that the zone is free of guns in the hands of responsible, law abiding citizens. It does not mean that a bad guy will stop at the door and go on his merry way to conduct his mayhem elsewhere.

In states and municipalities where we have the most stringent gun control laws we also have data to show that those are areas where gun violence is the worst. Chicago being a leading example. Same is true of Washington D.C. and Detroit. Gun control has only worsened the violence and increased the body count.

Gun control laws are to the mass murderer what relaxed IRS laws and regulations are to the tax cheat. A virtual payday. An opportunity to conduct their deed with no one to stop them.

In any one of these mass shootings had their been someone with a concealed carry to stop them, while it would not have prevented the murder of some, it could have been effective in neutralizing the threat that more people might be killed in the event. In every single one of these cases while people are ducking under desks, locking doors, and trying to avoid sprays of bullets, what are they waiting for?

Guns. Lots of guns.

I ask one simple question. Would you rather wait for the police to make their way inside, locate the threat, and take that threat out? Or would you prefer that someone under the desk beside you who has a gun, who knows where that threat is, is able to stop the threat right there and then?

Until we realize what we need to be examining in these cases we will get nowhere with the discussion, and frankly we'll get nowhere with solving the problem. The president has called these acts "routine." I agree with him. It seems to be getting that way. But what is also routine is our constant return to the discussion of gun control laws which are far removed from why these things occur, and why these things are not stopped sooner when they happen.

TV talking head Bill O'Reilly has suggested tougher gun crime laws, and even while that won't stop all gun crime from happening, it could potentially get more guns off the streets that would otherwise wind up in the hands of bad people. Any crime involving a firearm, including armed robbery, would demand a mandatory 10-year sentence in a Federal prison. In addition, in these cases I say confiscate and destroy the firearm—or perhaps return it to its legal owner if you can match it up.

But more than that, I say let's get away from this touchy-feely gun free zone that helps no one to be safer, and let's allow anyone with a concealed carry permit to carry anywhere, anytime. In the grander scheme of things these are random and rare events. But they happen often enough that I'd feel safer knowing a good guy with a gun beside me can stop a bad guy with a gun in front of me.