Fifty years ago, the idea that armed people could not stop a mass killing would have been laughable. Throughout the past, as it is now, armed defense is the best protection against being slaughtered or enslaved en masse. If you were not armed, organized and pro-active, you ended up dead or someone else’s slave. In much of the world, including historical times, you were eaten. The claim that being unarmed makes a person “safe” is recent and wrong. As the United States Air Force has now acknowledged. From military.com . . .
The Air Force on Wednesday said its review of “active-shooter incidents across the country” found that many ended without police intervention because someone present with a weapon stopped the shooter . . .
The Air Force also did not release the data showing how many active-shooter incidents were stopped by someone on the scene carrying a weapon. A spokeswoman said the data came from the FBI, and cannot be released by the Air Force.
I don’t know what data the Air Force or the FBI used to make such a pronouncement. In my post Mass Killings Stopped by Armed Citizens, I’ve listed 21 public sources, haphazardly obtained over the Internet for a few years. (Including the Parker Middle School incident, shooter above). That’s certainly enough to qualify for the “many” label.
All militaries are based on the idea of armed protection. Republics have always relied on armed citizens. I applaud the Air Force for stating a politically incorrect fact. I hope they will give it more than lip service. Maybe in the next administration.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.