We Need Citizen Heroes
To The Editor:Last month in Indiana, a crazy man armed with two semiautomatic rifles and a semi-automatic handgun went into a mall and opened fire, indiscriminately murdering three innocent people and wounding two others in adespicable act of evil.Fifteen seconds after the shooting began, a 22-year-old citizen hero shopping nearby with his girlfriend, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, returned fire and incredibly landed eight of ten rounds in seconds from 40 yards. The miraculous act of heroism saved countless lives that day.
In 2017, not far from here in Sutherland Springs, a crazy man shot up a church killing 26 and wounding 20. He was killed outside by a citizen hero with a semiautomatic rifle, but the hero was too late. This one was particularly heart-wrenching and many of us started carrying our sidearms in church afterwards. Two years later, also not far from here in White Settlement, a crazy man tried to shoot up another church, but he was only able to kill one before acitizen hero returned fire.Recently, in Uvalde, a crazy man shot up an elementary school but there was no citizen hero there that day, or the hero was too late. Unfortunately, there are still gun-free zones in Fayette County, but I am hopeful changeis on the horizon.Every church I walk into, every mall, theatre, restaurant, business or event where I may lawfully carry my semi-automatic sidearm, rest assured, I am. I am that well-armed, well-trained, citizen hero nearby when thecrazy man starts shooting, and I am prepared to return fire. The safest places I can think of are my home, my truck and my business. Don’t be confused. Semi-automatic firearms are not primarily for hunting, or sport, or even for making war. They are for personal defense, and it’s precisely why the second amendment secures our God-given right to bear arms (or weaponry). Do you believe free speech doesn’t apply on the internet because the founders didn’t think of it?
Did you know, in all of history, the worst mass killings have been committed by tyrannical governments against their own citizenry? Look up “democide.” Mau Zedong, China (65 million), Joseph Stalin, Soviet Union (20 million), Adolph Hitler, Germany (10 million), Vladimir Lenin, Soviet Union (7 million), and there are many others. Of course, those citizens were disarmed. Australia and Canada disarmed its citizens and did anyone else notice the human rights violations committed against them recently?
God-given rights are inherent in man and cannot be taken by government. There is no compromise. Please, stop advocating to outlaw semi-automatic firearms. It’s a fool’s errand. When the crazy man comes and seconds matter, a well-armed and trained citizen hero nearby is often the best, and only, defense. It just so happens to be the best deterrent against a democidal government as well. God bless America!
William Bernsen Plum