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Subscribe to RSSWe've had a lot of interesting comments on this cartoon by Mike Lester of the Rome News-Tribune (view more of Lester's cartoon here). In the wake of the AZ shooing, some members of Congress have called for a renewed need for more gun control, something Lester is very opposed to.
Mike Lester / Rome News-Tribune
Geoff: This is awful. Some Rambo wannabe’s wetdream. As somebody pointed out, even cops with all their training often bring down a whole lot of innocent bystanders, and the myth of someone with a gun somehow saving the day is… dangerous.
Dan T: Any individual, having proper training, equipment and mindset, is unlikely to be in a situation such as this. That is one very good reason more such individuals are needed… to increase the likelihood of “right place, right time” happening. Training and equipment are available, mindset can be developed.
Beth Cravens: Just because you’re packing heat doesn’t mean that you can come to the rescue. Even if you can get the gun out of concealment in time do you know who you are supposed to be shooting at? Sure it’s obvious in a one on one situation, but in a crowded room full of panicky people… I don’t know. I feel like the people who subdued the gunman did the right thing that took a lot of guts.
Felicia Price: How much do you think criminals would second guess themselves about robbing or breaking into someone's home if they knew that person would not be in trouble for using their weapon to defend themselves?
Colin: This cartoon is great in theory. I heard an interview the other day with the guest insisting that if only there had been more guns in the crowd the guy would have died in a “hail of gunfire”. Just what you need in the middle of a crowd, a hail of gunfire.
Dennis Walker: 2nd amendment written in an era of expansion and firearms were single shot weapons! Hell, a bow and arrow coud deliver faster in those days. When the law allows single shot weapons only I will support gun ownership as defied by the Constitution. Right to bear arms is so abused in this country and it is abused for profit. Armed citizens usually end up killing innocent cvilians as they have no training and HELLO…most bullets pass thru the body and hit something else!
Alexander Thorburn Hoffman: More guns mean less crime. Sane people d o not go on rampages, or attempt to assassinate leaders or public figures. Criminals and those with criminal intent will always find a way to get a gun, no matter what controls exist. The majority of all gun crimes involve illegally acquired guns. Laws preventing law abiding citizens from getting guns for their protection will just leave them unarmed in response to a criminal act.
What do you think?
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Having the "proper training and equipment" does not guarantee anyone being in the "right place, at the right time," and saving the day. No one is ever adequately prepared for a "crazy person" opening fire in a public situation.
Having the "proper training and equipment" does not guarantee anyone being in the "right place at the right time," and saving the day. No one is ever adequately prepared for a "crazy person" opening fire in a public situation. This cartoon makes a great statement.
The problem with this way of thinking is that the crazy person also considers himself a hero, saving the day with a gun. The real heros are the unarmed people trying to take a bullet for their loved ones.
At this point in time, we have too many people carrying guns that have no business even being on the streets; should the 2nd be considered, and taken seriously, you would have sane people carrying as well. Right now the only ones carrying are the crazies and the cops; and the cops are restricted in what they can do!
While the cartoon makes sense in a perfect world, there is the danger that many people would get hurt either way. The only pro here is that the perpetrator is more likely to be shot dead if there's other folks with guns present. The real issue is not gun banning or gun ownership - the real issue should be about how to prevent any Tom, Dick or Harry to get guns - instead, guns need to be only sold to mentally stable individuals, who need to pass some kind of mental stability test. And yeah, multiple round firing guns need to be heavily monitored, and in fact, not sold to whoever saunters in.
The cartoon seems to miss the fact that there WAS an armed citizen there, and that he nearly shot an innocent bystander because he mistook him for the gunman.
"But before we embrace Zamudio's brave intervention as proof of the value of being armed, let's hear the whole story. 'I came out of that store, I clicked the safety off, and I was ready,' he explained on Fox
and Friends. 'I had my hand on my gun. I had it in my jacket pocket here. And I came around the corner like this.' Zamudio demonstrated how his shooting hand was wrapped around the weapon, poised to draw
and fire. As he rounded the corner, he saw a man holding a gun. 'And that's who I at first thought was the shooter,' Zamudio recalled. 'I told him to "Drop it, drop it!"'
But the man with the gun wasn't the shooter. He had wrested the gun away from the shooter. 'Had you shot that guy, it would have been a big, fat mess,' the interviewer pointed out."
Not only that, but Zamudio pocketed his weapon because HE didn't want to be mistaken for the shooter when the police arrived.
Had Zamudio decided to shoot first and think second, there'd probably be another dead body sitting in the morgue.