The Mass Shooting That Destroyed So Many Illusions

When a mass shooting happens, both sides have a tendency to point to things that they’re convinced would have prevented the massacre from taking place. I know I sure as hell do.

However, in the interest of fairness, not everything I’ve suggested over the years is a guaranteed fix. There’s no such thing, which I think too few gun grabbers seem to realize, but I think a lot of folks on our side forget that as well.

On September 16, 2013, a shooting happened that should make it clear that no matter what you do, you’re never going to reduce the number of massacres to zero.

That was the day when a maniac walked into the Washington Navy Yard and killed 12 people and injured eight others with guns that aren’t currently being discussed for any kind of ban.

The killer, a 34-year-old man, had a valid pass for the base, allowing him to enter. This despite the security on the base because, as far as anyone knew, he belonged there.

He then pulled out a Beretta 92 handgun and a Remington 870 pump-action shotgun he’d sawn the barrel down on, as well as the grip–all NFA violations, mind you–then proceeded to kill as many people as he could.

In the process, the killer was also killed by responding officers, saving the taxpayers the cost of a trial.

He also illustrated that there’s nothing you can really do to prevent every single mass shooting out there.

On the one hand, the shotgun and pistol are pretty standard. You can find them in almost every gun store in America. They’re legal in all 50 states and every US territory. The magazine for the pistol might be restricted, but the gun itself isn’t. Pump-action shotguns are extremely popular for both hunting and home defense.

No one has talked about banning either to prevent massacres like what happened at the Washington Navy Yard. I’m sure some want to, but they’re not part of the discussion, though the shotgun might fall under the vague “long gun” ideas some are pushing these days. Even then, I’m sure they’d still be available to some degree.

Yet we on this side also need to recognize that we can harden buildings all we want, but there’s nothing we can really do to eliminate the threats entirely.

This was a secure military base. It might not have been the most secure, but it required a pass to enter, and that’s more than most of our buildings in this country require. The killer had a pass, which meant no one had any reason to question him being there until it was too late.

However, and this goes back to other arguments typically slung by the anti-gunners out there, the Washington Navy Yard was a gun-free zone. Military bases are. No one has a gun unless it’s required for their duties, and most people at the Navy Yard weren’t in need of a firearm in order to perform their job.

That made them sitting ducks.

When someone wants to kill others, there’s no way to stop them except to meet the force with equal force. Unlike most mass killers, this guy actually put up a fight when he was engaged by an armed response, but most don’t. They give up or shoot themselves. That’s assuming they’re not killed outright by the response.

Either way, it’s better to meet force with force than to just allow innocent people to be stalked like game.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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