Responsible gun ownership prevents tragedies
Online Editor
It’s around 9 in the morning on March 18, and I am sitting at my desk typing away on my computer. My 14-month-old son is on the living room floor playing with his favorite toys and I have classical music playing in the background, which relaxes me and according to conventional wisdom, stimulates his brain development. I am mildly annoyed that there is a helicopter buzzing incessantly over our apartment complex, but it should go away soon, they usually do. There we are, enjoying our typical morning ritual, blissfully unaware that for six people and all of those who love them, a nightmare has unfolded in the form of a madman with a gun. A nightmare with a real-life monster.
I got a phone call from a loved one who tells me there is a guy on a shooting spree in my neighborhood. Ryan Giroux is on the run after shooting six people, killing one. I turn on the news and learn all the horrible details. What am I going to do if he decides to kick down my door? Will I reason with him, tell him he can’t kill me because I have all these hopes and dreams not yet realized? What should I do if he decides to turn his gun on my beautiful baby boy? Just recall all of the awful “active shooter” events that have taken place in the last ten years alone. Think of all the victims. Google it, I dare you, you’ll be amazed.
The one thing most of these incidents have in common is that there is nobody there with a gun to stop it immediately. Many times it doesn’t stop because of direct police action, but because the shooter has run out of ammo and tries to escape, or has taken his own life. What if the first person that Ryan Giroux waved his gun at was armed and took him down? My point is that I think it is the duty of all American citizens to protect themselves and their families.
Legislation does nothing to stop bad guys from getting guns. Giroux was a convicted felon with a violent history and more than 15 years of prison time under his belt, the very poster child of someone who should not have a gun. Unfortunately we don’t live in an ideal world. We live in a world where push does come to shove. What would you do if a real-life monster came to your door?
