Reflections on a Needless Death

Odd how the national media grabs onto a particular person involved in a tragedy. In the 1999 Columbine High School shootings, in Littleton, Colorado, it was Rachael Scott, one of 15 people to die that April 20th.

At the time of her death, the 17-year old senior was an aspiring writer and actress. Shortly before her death, she wrote an essay for school stating, “I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion then it will start a chain reaction of the same.”

I had the good fortune of having her half-sister in one of emergency medical technician classes at Truckee Meadows Community College. I remember her pain and grief at the loss of her younger sibling.

In “The Dark Knight Rises” Massacre of Aurora, Colorado, the person in the media spotlight is Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sportscaster and blogger. She was one of 12 people killed when a man armed with several guns started randomly shooting into a crowd enjoying a midnight movie.

I knew Jessica via the Internet Ghawi but under her blogging nom de plume, Jessica Redfield. It’s because of her senseless death, that I feel compelled to write this down.

In her blog, she wrote about the June 2nd Eaton Centre shooting that she escaped, “It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting.”

Also since that time I’ve heard over and over, a call for tighter restriction on guns and ammunition. This makes me very angry!

First off, liberal-do-gooders and nanny-statist like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and actor Stephen Baldwin, need to shut their mouths. People are dead or wounded, family, friends and loved ones are hurting and should get chance to heal before you go off half-cocked about the horrors of gun-ownership.

“Soothing words are nice,” said Bloomberg, “But maybe it’s time the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they’re going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country.”

Yeah, half-cocked is what I said, especially you Mr. Mayor, with your armed body guards and armored limo. Hypocrite!

Baldwin told CNN, a red flag should have gone up when James Holmes purchased 6,000 rounds and equipment in such a short period. He said the Patriot Act put certain rules in place such as monitoring, but as “technology advances, maybe there should be some new thinking.”

As for you Baldwin, adding more regulation, applying new laws, and creating more “Big Brother” is not what gun advocates aspire too. Obviously you are as good a constitutional scholar as you are an actor.

Not once have I ever bought into the belief that, “Guns kill.”  That’s like saying “Religion kills.”

Both premises are wrong. People kill, some misuse a gun, some misuse religion.

Is it the car that kills or the driver operating it?

The 2nd Amendment, ratified December 17, 1791 along with nine other amendments, make up the Bill of Rights. It reads:  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

It’s time U.S. Citizen’s took back their God-given right to “keep and bear arms,” and then wear those “arms” openly and proudly. I’m sick and tired of the politicians and activists dictating to me and you what we can or cannot do.

Who made them a god? No one — as they’re either elected, or worse, self-appointed.

It’s time we gre a pair and followed in the foot steps of those who raised up this nation. You and I should be able to wear a pistol or revolver openly on our leg or around our waist anywhere we want to go in this supposed “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.”

Forget old-west characters like Wyatt Earp and such, who stripped cowboys of their weapons upon entering a town. That’s tyranny and in the end only those with power will have what those not in power can’t have.

In this case that would be a gun!

It’s a shame that carrying a concealed weapon into a movie theater in Colorado is illegal. Had one person been armed besides the murderer, the odds are that killer wouldn’t be alive, sucking air while sitting in jail.

Furthermore, it’s a shame that I can’t carry a gun openly in my workplace as protection and a deterrent against violence. I have co-workers who have carry-conceal permits, but they cannot carry a firearm inside the building!

While it seems counter intuitive, having a known firearm, does cause those who would otherwise do another person harm, to stop and rethink their action as they realize they can get killed jus’ as easily as doing the killing.

Here in Nevada, it is legal to carry a weapon openly displayed on your person, but it’s also illegal to transport a loaded weapon on certain roadways. It’s a real catch-22, that been placed on you and I by lawmakers.

I’m left carrying a knife instead.

My son and I went to the movies in Sparks to see the latest Batman flick. Before going, my wife called, asking that we be careful, since by then the Aurora shooting were nearly nine-hours old news.

On our way, I said to him, “As your dad, if someone starts shooting, I want you to lay down on the floor and play dead. However, man-to-man, if you’re so compelled and see the chance to kill the son-of-a bitch with your knife, do it.”

Not all parents will agree with me, but Kyle is 20-years-old and knows right from wrong. I trust him to do what needs doing.

In the movie, while locked in an underground prison, Bruce Wayne must find a way to escape. The only way to do this is by climbing a circular wall, which is not only high, but also uneven.

Those who’ve attempt escape tie a rope around their waists to prevent a fall to the death. Wayne tries it this way then realizes the rope is holding him back from reaching his goal of freedom.

I found a simple but elegant truth in that scene: It’s time to untether ourselves from those who think they know whats best for us and risk the fall for the greater freedom.

As for Jessica, no one was in that theater to protect her right, or that of the other 11 people killed to continue in this life. And since people like Bloomberg, Baldwin and their ilk aren’t willing to act as human-sheilds and Wyatt Earp is already dead, we ought to start protecting ourselves like free-men and woman!

It’s time for some personal responsibility and that’s the beauty of an armed-citizenry.