End the Killing Zones
Every time we have another one of these shocking mass-shootings, we ask ourselves: what can be done? What's causing this? Why is it happening?
Note: this article has been updated to reflect new information regarding the presence of an armed guard - there was no armed guard present at the school. Also we now know that the Uvalde shooter had purchased the weapon used legally in the weeks prior to his rampage.
There is no "common sense" gun laws that would have prevented what happened yesterday, happened two weeks ago, is happening seemingly every week now. These murder sprees defy common sense altogether. The Buffalo shooter violated New York’s "extended magazine" ban and likely should have popped on the state's "red flag" law for mental illness and communicating threats. Yesterday's shooter in Uvalde, Texas violated the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act - another "common sense" gun law. The guns in Buffalo we know were legally acquired after passing a NICS check (ATF background investigation) and the same is true with the Texas shooter. More "common sense" laws that congress passed that end up harassing, restricting and intimidating law-abiding citizens, yet don't appear to even slow down those with murder spree aspirations.
Why would they? Tacking on an 18-month sentence for using an "outlawed" 30-round magazine to 10 consecutive life sentences is just trite, inconsequential. And the kid in Texas? He won't be facing any criminal charges, not for the 22 murders he committed, the transport of loaded firearms in a motor vehicle, nor for violating the gun-free school zone law.
So what does our "Consoler in Chief" do with his moment in the spotlight? Re-iterate yet more demands for "common sense" gun laws. By my count last night, "common sense" came up at least four times, though I was tuning out, frankly. That term, “common sense” is so 1990s - the Democrats wore it out then and it’s become tedious now. We all know it just means yet more restrictions and paperwork for law-abiding citizens.
Then Biden outright lied about the "assault weapons" ban reducing mass shootings - it expired in 2005 without being renewed precisely because it had proved to be ineffective. We all were witness to this! We were there. Alive, sentient and paying attention. It had no effect - so we ditched it. Lying about this fact for political gain, in a moment of raw emotion and shock, is just despicable and low.
Every time we have another one of these shocking mass-shootings, we ask ourselves: what can be done? What's causing this? Why is it happening?
The simplest explanation is to rule out what hasn’t changed since these incidents started happening. We’ve always had guns; we’ve had guns with detachable, high capacity magazines for a very long time; and we’ve always had some fringe element of our society. What we haven’t had is a mass secular culture that actively fears guns paired with a simultaneous fixation on “gun safety” through these so-called “common sense” laws.
I don't believe we can get our culture back to a time when we didn't promote fear while spawning hate-filled, angry and violent people. We have actively suppressed the calming, unifying and peaceful purpose that comes from religion and belief in eternal life, replacing it with a secular culture that breeds hate, isolation, resentment and nihilism among the disaffected. We've kicked God out of the town square and schools, actively ridiculed Him and taught open defiance of His commandments. People without "souls" or conscience are an inevitable result of that. Matching that up with a cultural “fear” of guns is a perfect hand-in-glove for aspiring lunatics.
And unfortunately I don't see that changing, in fact, only getting worse. Following two years of lockdowns, isolation, mask-wearing and living in fear of each other has promoted isolation and social disengagement - a perfect breeding ground for nihilism and malcontent. Witness the soaring rates of “road rage” in the past year. I fear we’re only at the tip of the iceberg on gun violence.
What we do know: murder sprees happen in gun-free zones where potential victims are defenseless. These locations are self-identified killing zones for murderous rampages. Those with aims to commit mass murder don't target gun stores or police stations or gun ranges; they target schools, movie theaters, restaurants and supermarkets which proudly display the "no guns allowed" sticker on the door, especially if there is no armed guard present. But if there happens to be an armed guard, that problem is easily solved: target him first, then move on. The presence of an armed guard is obviously just show deterrence - like the sticker on the door - intended to "reassure" the defenseless, not actually prevent violence.
If we're going to live in a society of people without conscience, then we must actively protect ourselves. Additional "common sense" laws that further restrict self-protection will only result in more killings.
“Common sense” gun laws - a term that focus group-tested well 30 years ago - only disarm those with a conscience. We know better.
I caught Biden's lie about the AWB. It's also worth noting that the Buffalo shooter definitionally did *not* purchase an Assault Weapon, given that they are illegal in NY.
The problem is a cultural sickness. Bari Weiss came to the same conclusion today:
https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/american-madness
Unfortunately, that problem has been created by the very people who purport to address it by further infringing on the rights of good people.