Carrying weapons
In a recent letter to the editor, Benjamin C. Cook says, “Anytime something terrible happens, we call somebody with a gun to come to the rescue. But all too often it ends up a recovery that could have been avoided if somebody had been carrying a gun instead of having to call somebody with a gun.”
I substantially agree with his sentiments, but he does oversimplify the problem somewhat. It is often said that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” This should be modified to read “a motivated good guy with superior firepower.”
It is asking too much of even a good guy to volunteer to go up against superior firepower. Requiring all able-bodied adults to carry automatic pistols would be a positive step. This would ensure that every public place is protected by good guys with automatic weapons.
Of course, when a bad guy opens fire, he will be looking for the good guys with guns, so he can shoot them first. This may make the good guys reluctant to reveal themselves.
Robert McDonald
Richland
This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Carrying weapons."