The mid east may be tweeting for freedom, but what they are going to get is Sharia Law and Islamic Fundamentalist States. The people will create a vacuum and the bad guys will step in and take the power.
Not too long ago in South FL, a couple of armed thugs decided to rob a Subway. It would have been nothing if they had just taken the cash and left. But one decided that they should “take all the customers and employees to a back room and have them lie face down”. One customer, knowing how many time this led to the murder of all witnesses, pulled his gun and shot both robbers dead.
This is not an isolated incident, but what got reported in the newspapers were the families of these two thugs, with long records, complaining that their boys never did anything wrong and didn’t deserve what happened. They were “good boys”. Well they are good boys now.
It seems you are all giving way too much credit to the “attacker” as being really expert with their weapon and having the advantage; and then way too little credit to the individual who carries a gun for simple protection.
No, you can never protect yourself or anyone else from random acts of violence, whether from a gun, car, knife, baseball bat, etc.
But to assume that the “nut” is so much better handling a firearm in stressful circumstances, and everyone else isn’t is not logical.
Take it to this extreme. The 9/11 Hijackers were able to gain control of the airplanes with simple box cutters only because everyone on the airplane had been conditioned to “submit” and let events take their course. On the 4th plane, where the passengers fought back, at least they saved other lives, if not their own.
Bottom line, bad people, criminals and nuts are not typically superior at handling guns and shooting. That’s a myth.
The comment that you are more likely to be killed by some one you know is true…….if you realize that more than 50% of all gun deaths are self inflicted - suicide.
Most people who die by guns are Suicides. Crime in the US decreased as “right to carry” was implemented and is holding steady. Interesting fact, ALL the deaths in Ireland by Gun were suicides - perhaps they are too depressed.
Here are the factual CDC Statistics, which should frame this discussion. By comparison we kill over 50K people every year by automobile, usually accompanied by alcohol, texting, etc.
In the U.S. for 2006, there were 30,896 deaths from firearms, distributed as follows by mode of death: Suicide 16,883; Homicide 12,791; Accident 642; Legal Intervention 360; Undetermined 220. This makes firearms injuries one of the top ten causes of death in the U.S. The number of firearms-related injuries in the U.S., both fatal and non-fatal, increased through 1993, declined to 1999, and has remained relatively constant since. However, firearms injuries remain a leading cause of death in the U.S., particularly among youth (CDC, 2001) (CDC, 2006).
@BrianCrook; Way to go! Leading with the Progressive Strategy. High on attacks and low on solutions!