In The Hands of a Good Person

One woman with a gun stopped the massacre. The fact that she was a police officer was secondary. Would Columbine been different if there had been a couple of armed teachers there? Would Virginia Tech had gone a little differently if there had been a few armed people near the shooter? Most likely. People would have died but not as many.

A gun is in and of itself a morally neutral thing whose actions reflect the morality and sanity of the person holding it. It the hands of an evil or crazy person it becomes an item of destruction and murder. In the hands a heroic person it can stop an evil or crazy person from harming others.

It is a great equalizer. It is as effective in the hands of a 100 pound woman as it is in the hands of a 200 pound body builder.

One of the few true things that Chairman Mao said is that all political power comes out of the barrel of a gun. For the people to have the power the guns must be in the hands of the people. An armed population is a free population.

Legal or not, criminals will always have guns. No law will disarm those who intend to break the law. Disarm the honest citizen and he will be the prey of both kinds of criminals, outlaws and autocratic lawmakers.

And those who want to leave the law-abiding citizens as helpless victims are not giving up.