Last week, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida shot and killed at least 17 students and adults and injured more than a dozen others. Recently, a student shot and killed two fellow students and wounded twenty others at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky. The day before, a male student shot a girl in Texas.
Everyone agrees that something must be done about school shootings. However, few agree on the solution.
The only workable solution is to train willing school personnel in the use of guns but they must have a willingness to use them in defense of others!
The more good guys with guns mix with the general population at school, church, theater, work, etc., the less likely the bad guys will go on a shooting spree. Or, in the event of a shooting spree, the bad guys can be stopped by one of the good guys before any deaths occur.
Every school system should arm any teacher or administrator who is willing to be armed — and pay them an extra stipend for carrying a gun to school surreptitiously. The bad guys will have to assume that all school personnel are packing. That will slow the number of school shootings. It’s only human nature. Cowards with guns don’t want to face trained gun owners. Remember that schools are “gun free zones.”
Dr. John Lott’s seminal study, “More Guns, Less Crime,” clearly proves to any sane person that the more guns that are in the hands of the good guys means more safety for the average citizen. You see, guns don’t kill people. Are you ready? People kill people — using guns, knives, clubs, frozen fish, turkey, etc. Gun control advocates are a menace to all and must share responsibility in the wanton killing of innocent people.
It is not difficult to understand that when crooks know citizens are unarmed, the unarmed good guys will become targets for the bad guys in schools, malls, workplace, and streets.
We have an example not far from my home that proves my contention. Since 1982, every home in Kennesaw, Georgia has been “required” to have a weapon except felons, nuts, and those opposed for religious’ reasons. That law made the knees of every liberal in America jerk. Left ones, of course. Now if I’m a thief and want some loot, I have to make a choice what homes to rob in what city. Will I choose homes in Kennesaw or the suburb down the highway? Of course, I will stay away from Kennesaw, although no one says thieves are very smart — just as gun control advocates are not the brightest bulb in the house.
Twelve years after the gun law, Kennesaw doubled its population; tax rates fell and tax receipts soared. It now has a population of 30,000 and is home to a university. They did have a homicide in 1989 but it was committed with a knife, while a shooting which occurred at a motel in 1986 involved two out-of-state young men. They each dared the other to shoot and one did. They were as drunk as a politician at a free booze bar. Kennesaw has had no murders in the last six years. The town’s biggest crime problem is theft from unlocked cars.
When a reporter asked the part-time mayor if the Kennesaw gun law would work in New York City, he replied that he wasn’t sure but New York’s gun control laws sure weren’t working now! Good response.
Also, Kennesaw’s overall violent crime rate dropped by 50 percent, and the place still has a crime rate about half the average of the rest of the country!
An article in USA Today dealing with Kennesaw revealed, “Still, the crime rate, not that high to begin with, plummeted after the law was enacted — by 89%, compared with a 10 percent drop statewide, according to published accounts.” After all, crooks may be crooked but most are not stupid. They know it is dangerous to do their thing when citizens are armed.
It is so simple that it is embarrassing: Innocent people are dying because some people are evil and the gun grabbers are gullible, putting good people at greater risk. They don’t understand that the bad guys always choose to prey on unarmed victims as proved by Kennesaw. Moreover, if violent bad guys don’t have guns, they will find some other weapon. Recently a man strangled his girlfriend with his dread locks. I suppose we should ban all dread locks; but would that be deemed racist? Men have been killed with a frozen fish, frozen turkey, etc., so do we ban or license fish and turkey?
Wimpy liberals lose total control of their thinking process when it comes to guns. It is better to have a gun and not need it than need one and not have one. I want my grandchildren to be in a school room with a trained, armed teacher. As I consider this, I realize that most of my grandkids and great grandkids are either in a Christian school or are home schooled but I want your grandkids to be safe as well.
Many wimps would stand by and permit intruders to harm, rape, even kill their family! I took a vow to protect my wife so that means anyone in our home late at night will be presumed a thief, rapist, and killer. He will be shot graveyard dead. The following day, I will contact the governor of Georgia and ask him when he wants me to come to Atlanta for an awards ceremony. I assume he will give me the key to the city of Atlanta and maybe designate the day, “Don Boys’ Day” in honor of me removing scum from our state and making innocent people more secure.
Don’t misunderstand. I don’t want to harm anyone and will go out of my way not to do so, but if anyone is going to be harmed, it will be the thug in my home, not me or my wife. Is that too difficult for critics to comprehend? You see, all the bad guys have to do to stay alive is not to break into homes or steal property but obey the laws. After all, that’s what I do.
Liberal wimps, pacifists, and cowards looking for succor, flee to the Garden of Gethsemane in John 18:11 where Peter cut off the man’s right ear (he was aiming for his head!). Jesus told Peter to put his sword into its sheath. However, Jesus didn’t tell him to throw down his sword or sell it in a silly buyback program sponsored by Jerusalem Anti-Sword Society. Christ told them that His time had come to die for our sins. No self-defense was required. However, liberals twist that passage like a pretzel to support fanatical gun laws and excuse their cowardice.
In 1997, the Australian government took many guns off the streets in a failed buy-back scheme. Since then, the crime rate has soared! One year after the 1997 $500 million dollar buyback there was a 44 percent increase in armed robberies; an 8.6 percent increase in aggravated assaults; and, a 3.2 percent increase in homicides. That same year in the state of Victoria, there was a 300 percent increase in homicides committed with firearms. Not unusual since the good guys were at the mercy of the bad guys. While the police are often helpful, they are no help when a gun is pointed at you or your child. I would rather have a gun in my hand than a cop on the phone! Wouldn’t any sane person?
In fact, the Australian government told police departments not to discuss crime statistics with anyone. The Aussie actual crime statistics are twice what is reported in the media. Some American cities use the same subterfuge to hide their crime rates. Here in the states we call that deception which of course is stock and trade of all politicians.
In Australia, the police can enter any house and search for guns without a search warrant and they can go door to door searching for weapons that have not been surrendered! The officials used registration lists to see if citizens are in compliance. In 1998, even knives and handcuffs were banned. I think the Aussies have spent too much time in the sun and it steamed their brains.
Heinrich Himmler of the German SS said: “Germans who wish to use firearms should join the SS or the SA – ordinary citizens don’t need guns, as their having guns doesn’t serve the State.” However, we are not obligated to “serve the state.” The state is here to serve and protect us. School children should be safe as they study reading, writing and arithmetic.
No, gun control is not about gun control. The right kind of gun control is a person using both hands to control his weapon. Traditional gun control is about people control as accomplished by the British and Aussies. The people have surrendered control to their government, and a government tries to control its citizens only if it fears them. We should love and support our government but be suspicious of and fear any administration that feels a need to control its people.
Too bad. Australia and England used to be great nations, and I’m afraid America is headed in the same direction and will reach the same unsafe, undesirable and unfortunate destination.
Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives; ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis, wrote columns for USA Today for eight years and authored 16 books. Follow Dr. Boys on Facebook at CSTNews and Twitter, and visit his blog.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.