Concealed Carry & Home Defense

Personal Defense: The Lessons Of Orlando

REUTERS/Steve Nesius.

Harold Hutchison Freelance Writer
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As of this writing, there have been 50 people killed and dozens more wounded in a terrorist attack at an Orlando nightclub. The shooter, according to media reports, was an Islamic extremist, who held hostages for over three hours. It is time to review lessons, as it was after Tel Aviv, San Bernardino, and Paris. Again.

The first new lesson is that the “mainstream media” will ignore inconvenient facts. Despite the FBI revealing that the shooter may have been inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a number of media outlets didn’t say anything. Some will undoubtedly scapegoat Second Amendment rights in the near future, while ignoring the jihadist origins.

Another “new” lesson: Gun-free zones do not prevent attacks of this nature, and this past weekend in Florida proves it. According to the Crime Prevention Research Center, both the Pulse and the location where former Voice contestant Christine Grimmie was killed were “gun-free” zones. They did not stop either killer from carrying out their acts. The only accomplishment of gun-free zones: The killers had victims who were much less capable – if not utterly incapable – of fighting back.

The third “new” lesson: A good guy with a gun can lessen the damage. Over 300 people were in the nightclub when the attack began. There was a police officer providing security at the club who engaged the gunman. As was the case at Columbine, the initial armed response from that armed security on the scene bought time for many potential victims to escape. This was also demonstrated in Tel Aviv. The sooner that a terrorist faces active, armed resistance, the better the outcome for innocent people.

It will not hurt to review older lessons as well. The biggest one is that in such an attack, you are responsible for your own security. In these attacks, police, firefighters, and paramedics are really second responders. Those who are on the scene are the first response. Review what the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have put out.

Some gun-grabbers will claim that Florida’s lax gun laws contributed to the shooting. That said, strict gun laws in France and California proved to be no deterrent. Gun-grabbers will likely use the shock and horror at this attack to ram through new gun laws.

Also, political correctness gets innocent people killed. This time, it was people at a nightclub. The alleged shooter at the Pulse made threats beforehand, but nobody did anything about them. Remember the woman in San Bernardino who didn’t report suspicious activity because she was afraid to be called racist? If you see something, say something. The terrorist attack that is broken up is the cheapest in lives and property damage.

We’ve seen attacks abroad, in places like Tel Aviv and Paris. Jihadist-inspired terror has also hit the United States, from San Bernardino to Orlando. Willful blindness to the lessons of Paris, San Bernardino, Tel Aviv, and Orlando will only lead to more body counts.