Tom Tomorrow: What We REALLY Need Is...

[spin]

38. I agree that her experience was a positive factor ...

However I know a number of people who have carry permits who are ex-military with combat experience or retired police. Obviously such people have the edge in maintaining their cool in a dangerous situation.

It is also true that many regular shooters who legally carry concealed are far better at shooting than most police officers who only qualify once or twice a year.

Fortunately mass murders are extremely rare events. They also often happen in "gun free" zones as the shooter is looking for a shooting gallery where he can rack up a high score of kills before the armed police arrive. The shooter in the most recent Colorado shooting was also wearing body armor and used tear gas. Even a police officer on the scene armed with only his handgun would have had a difficult time stopping this individual if he had chosen to fight. Obviously an armed citizen or citizens in the Aurora movie theater would have faced the same difficulty and would have likely ended up injured or dead.

There have been many incidents in which a person with a carry permit was able to stop a criminal attack. Most end up without any shots being fired as a predator is looking for a victim who lacks the ability to fight back effectively. Such incidents usually occur at arm's length and the ability to accurately shoot at distance is not a factor.

Eighty percent of all homicides are caused by criminals or criminal gangs. Many involve "drive by" shootings and frequently innocent people are killed or injured.

How many gun deaths are in the US every year?

Answer:
Per the Center for Disease Control, latest figures (2005) show 30,694 firearm deaths (all races, all ages, both sexes) in the United States.
Since a firearm is an inanimate object, it can not be the sole creator/ root cause of a death as it must be handled by a person in order to be fired.
A more accurate description is approximately 16,000 suicides using a firearm.
Approximately 12,252 murders by firearms 80% of which are caused by felons/career criminals/gang member activities. USDOJ National Gang Threat Assessment annual report 2009.
Approximately 600 justifiable defensive shootings by both police and citizens.
The remainder in accidental firearms discharges.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_gun_deaths_are_in_the_US_every_year

In my opinion it would make far more sense to attack the criminal gang problem in our nation rather than greatly restrict firearm ownership or try to overturn the carry of firearms by honest citizens. Perhaps we should reconsider our failed War on Drugs which provides much of the profit for organized crime and leads to turf wars between drug gangs in our inner cities.

Stopping mass murderers is far more difficult as they usually are suffering from serious mental issues. I feel we need to carefully evaluate our mental health care system and determine how we can improve it. This might also reduce the number of suicides caused by firearms.