The only thing that will protect us from bad guys with a gun, are good guys with a gun. A common Second Amendment interpretation encouraging more citizens to carry guns in the public domain. If only life was that simple.
When a law enforcement officer sees a citizen with a gun, does that make the officer feel safer? The ICE officers didn’t appear to feel safer when Alex Pretti was carrying a gun. Is there another explanation for shooting him multiple times after disarming him? Are the ICE agents the good guys, or is Alex Pretti?
A few years ago in Oregon, a shooter opened fire in a shopping center. Someone else nearby was carrying a gun and started a shootout with the bad guy. Then the police arrived. Can you imagine their difficulty in sorting out the good and bad guys? Tough situation to have a meaningful conversation. I know that when I see someone carrying a gun in public, I feel an immediate threat, not safer. Is that the real underlying purpose of carrying the gun?
I’ve always wondered why police must be trained to always shoot to kill. Some situations would clearly merit that approach. When confronted with someone who is wielding a baseball bat, why don’t police target nonlethal areas of the attacker’s body? Why five shots in the torso clearly designed to kill? Naive question, I’m sure. Life isn’t that simple.
Rich Farrington
Hesperus
