Indefensible

April 8, 2016

In a 2015 Rolling Stone article, Amanda Marcotte makes the deceiving statement that "no mass shootings in the past 30 years have been stopped by an armed civilian." She makes this claim to refute NRA leader Wayne LaPierre’s iconic statement that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." What Marcotte overlooks is the 1990 Gun-Free School Zone legislation. In the last 26 years, good guys haven’t been allowed to have guns in the very places where mass shootings have occurred. Gun phobic people like Marcotte have created the mass shooting zones where maniacs are free to terrorize large groups of people who, by law, cannot defend themselves.

Gun restriction laws work for those who obey the rules. When a gun-free school zone is established, when a movie theatre or restaurant posts a "no guns" notice, people who legally carry guns leave them behind. A part of every concealed carry class is a lesson on where you can and cannot legally carry a gun. Anyone who wants to create mayhem would wisely choose a gun-free zone to destroy order unimpeded. And they do.

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold created the playbook for mass shootings when they exploited Columbine High School’s gun-free status and went on an unchallenged 50-minute shooting spree. It was a critical point in American culture when we collectively could have decided to face this horror in one of two ways. One reaction would have been to end gun-free zones, and assure that when evil occurred we were ready to repel it with opposite and more powerful force. We could have strengthened our defenses. Sadly, we chose to pretend that creating rules could eliminate evil. It felt good to talk about laws to stop behavior that was already illegal. We made a mistake.

History has proven that as long as there are gun-free zones, there will be miscreants to exploit them and kill people. In Red Lake, Minnesota, a young man killed his grandfather and then took his shooting spree to school, where he killed eight more people unimpeded. Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people at Virginia Tech. Adam Lanza killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The prohibition of murder is so old it predates the invention of firearms. When men set out to kill people, breaking the law is part of the plan. The signs that said "Gun-Free School Zone" were an invitation, not an obstacle. And it’s not just schools. When James Holmes shot up a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, he drove past other theatres and chose the Century 16 complex because guns were not allowed. He knew he would not be stopped, because everyone else would be obeying the law.

Guns are so restricted in France that even the Paris police are unarmed. There are no law abiding Frenchmen with guns. Last November, in Paris, terrorists killed more than 100 people execution style, while the defenseless cowered and plead for their lives.

Over the last 30 years, Americans have been restricted, prohibited, screened, and searched. We are no safer. As we make ourselves more defenseless, we give those who would harm us more advantage.

The answer is simple familiarity with firearms. Not everyone should own and carry a firearm. But no one should be so ignorant of firearms that they fear their very existence. The only people who fear firearms are people who know nothing about them. Like a fear of spiders or elevators, the best thing to do with a fear of firearms is to learn about them and experience them in a controlled setting. It’s a big step, but it is step toward empowerment. It starts by changing a few suppositions about firearms.

Guns do not go off by themselves. Despite what you might see in movies, guns don’t shoot without a finger on the trigger. Modern weapons have firing pin blocks and all sorts of safety mechanism built in, so even dropping a pistol won’t make it fire. If you see someone carrying a gun, there isn’t a risk that the gun will shoot by itself.

Guns are not only for killing things. While guns can be used effectively for self-defense and as a deterrent to criminals, there are other reasons to own one. Shooting is fun. Guns are not toys, so shooting requires concentration and focus. Because of the concentration required, thirty minutes of target shooting is a great way to clear your head. The more social shooting sports like trap and skeet are great ways to spend time outdoors with friends. More importantly, people who shoot recreationally are among the most careful about gun safety. People who choose to carry a weapon are fanatical about safety; they are not people to be feared.

It’s perfectly reasonable to expect people who carry a firearm to have some training and practice. Choosing to carry a firearm isn’t for most people. Carrying a gun is uncomfortable and it’s a responsibility. Those people who do take that responsibility should not be vilified. When we have a culture where a few people might be armed anywhere, criminals will think twice. We don’t all need to be armed to create the beneficial environment where criminals are challenged. It only takes a few.

We tried disarming and hoping. It doesn’t work. The solution isn’t more of the same. It’s time for something new. We need to allow the few courageous and responsible people willing to defend us to have the tools they need.

It’s time to have a culture where if madmen and terrorists try to do evil they will be met with opposition.

Thomas Kachadurian is a photographer, designer and author. He lives on Old Mission with his wife and two children. He is a member and past president of the Traverse Area District Library Board of Trustees.