My letter to Congress, read today at Texas Senate committee on Constitutional Carry. It is now public record.
To my friends, fellow Texans, brothers in arms, members of the committee, and everyone within the sound of my voice, greetings.
My name is First Lieutenant Patrick Cook of the 49th Transportation Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas, and this past Wednesday I found myself trapped in an enclosed room with fourteen of my fellow Soldiers, one of whom was barricading the door against a madman with a .45 pistol when he was fatally shot. Through what I can only describe as a miracle, he somehow found enough strength to continue pushing against that door until the shooter gave up and went elsewhere, at which time he collapsed. Nearly a week later, I can still taste his blood in my mouth from when I and my comrades breathed into his lungs for 20 long minutes while we waited for a response from the authorities. This Soldier’s name was Sergeant First Class Daniel Ferguson, and his sacrifice loaned me the rest of my life to tell this story . . .
But I write to you today not to memorialize this brave Soldier, nor to tell a war story about how we made the best of a losing situation, but to express the part of that story that some in high positions of power clearly do not want told: I knew this was going to happen. I had been saying for five years that Fort Hood was a tinderbox of another massacre waiting to happen. It had to happen, because our betters failed to learn the obvious lesson of five years ago. Worse yet, I know it will happen again. More will die, more will be wounded, more families will be torn apart, needlessly. It happened again, and will happen again, because Fort Hood is a gun free zone.
When the first shots rang out, my hand reached to my belt for something that wasn’t there. Something that could have put a stop to the bloodshed, could have made it merely an “ugly incident” instead of the horrific massacre that I will surely remember as the darkest twenty minutes of my life. Stripped of my God-given Right to arm myself, the only defensive posture I had left was to lie prostrate on the ground, and wait to die. As the shooter kicked at the door, I remember telling myself, “oh well, this is it.” It is beneath human dignity to experience the utter helplessness I felt that day. I cannot abide the thought that anyone should ever feel that again.
At the point blank range at which this shooting occurred, anyone with an M9 and some basic instruction could have ended the mayhem as quickly as it began. An MP by trade and a CHL holder, I am convinced that concealed weapons would have stopped it, but openly carried side-arms, like the ones carried in a law enforcement capacity, could have prevented it entirely. Instead, many more died because of the fatally misguided restrictions on the carrying of arms, which obviously the madman did not respect.
I shall conclude by restating my warning. This will happen again, and again until we learn the lesson that suppressing the bearing of arms doesn’t prevent horrific crimes, it invites them. To those of you who hold elected office, if you hear nothing else I have told you, hear this: you have the power to stop the next massacre from happening. You have an opportunity to restore the sacred Right to bear arms, which has been either stripped entirely or unjustly relegated to the poor substitute of a probationary, government-issued privilege. For God’s sake, do the right thing.
Thank you for your attention, and good day.
Bravo.
You do realize that this article excites Bloomberg, Cuomo, Christie, O’Malley, etc. in a very physical way. That’s their dream come true.
Well spoken. God bless Lt. Patrick.
Puerto Rico ACLU needs to get off their ass
https://www.aclu.org/affiliate/puerto-rico
Paul, I agree with you on reasons 1, 3, 5 & 6.
Trigger: I’m used to far better triggers than any striker pistol provides. There’s not much that can be changed in the striker pistol area to give me a trigger that I’d classify as “good.”
External safeties: I’d like to see something as simple, proven and reliable as a Glock have a grip safety. I know we probably differ here, but I think it would save some people from red-legging themselves (eg, members of the NYPD) if the Glock had such a safety.
If I could change the grip angle and add a safety I’d turn the gun into an XD. While I own one I haven’t kept any for too long. I’d like a .40 XDM but…oh well.
There was a story here of a guy who was buckled into the car and the seat belt got caught and he died sitting in the car seat. A grip safety would’ve saved him assuredly.
An awful lot of fluff in this article….this and many, many other of these articles could be summed up in 1 or 2 sentences saying that yes, we are all aware that there exists both an overt and covert agenda to disarm what’s left of the declining, law abiding middle class. Add another sentence if it makes you feel better, but really anything else being said beyond this point is a waste of calories.
Lt. Cook probably just killed his chances of ever getting a promotion; too bad no generals have the courage to follow Lt. Cook’s example and stand for truth and human rights.
I give a truly heartfelt “Hear, hear” to this.
All you guys saying “killed your career,” this is what selfless courage looks like.
Do you think his CAREER mattered to him as he watched his friend die, his friend that died saving his life?
Good grief. What’s wrong with this country in a nutshell, right here, on display in this comment thread.
{rant off}
He has placed himself in the good company Billy Mitchell and the like. Carry on!
When you keep a 9mm slug, .223 and .308 round on hand and ask which is which and how something high powered is flinging a piece of lead the size of a spitball when people start blaming guns.
They where unarmed the first time, the policy the generals put into place was the same and it still happened again. WE trust soldiers to defend our country yet the government doesn’t trust the same soldiers to defend themselves. HYPOCRISY !
This is an extremely compelling and well-written statement. Anyone who can read the line “It is beneath human dignity to experience the utter helplessness I felt that day” and continue to promote so-called gun-free zones is heartless.
Georgia is hardly “guns everywhere”. That honor goes to New Hampshire, where the list of places where guns are prohibited by state law consists of:
1. Courtrooms.
That’s it, that’s the whole list. And the courthouse has to store your gun for you while you’re inside.
Even though NH still requires a license for concealed loaded carry or loaded car carry, it’s only $10 for four years, “shall issue” within 14 days, and if someone is wrongly denied a license, the issuing official must *personally* pay the applicant’s legal fees for the appeal. No taxpayer money is at risk.
This is why NH has better gun laws than even the so-called “constitutional carry” states.
It’s not a “Target License”; it’s a “Taaaarget License” as in “these people are targeted for firearms confiscation” because the administration knows that these people have firearms.
Still think it’s OK to have firearms registration?
Great letter. Shared!
Lt. Cook, the quality of your character will stand you in good stead wherever life takes you.
Godspeed!
Thank you for your service, and even more for the courage to speak out. I am very sorry you had to experience this. You, and all of them, deserve better.
What Lt. Cook should have done is announced that he’s gay right after he made his pro-self defense speech. Then he’d be promoted.
I hope when his commitment is over( as we all know he’s never moving up again) he finds himself a good job in the private sector. He seems to have his head on straight, so he should be okay.
Thank you, Lieutenant, for your service and for your words, and even more considering what you may have brought down upon yourself. I wish you luck and the best.
I have 9 guns in a room with me right now and I want more. None of these guns have harmed anyone since, Korea, WW2 or WW1 depending on the rifle. I feel pretty darn safe right now and don’t feel any paranoia. I think Cenk totally lost his battle with reality on this one.
20 INJURED with a knife.
26 DEAD with a gun.
You sick monsters can’t grasp the difference.
Which country has more guns, Afganistan or the USA?
Why is Flint MI the deadliest city in America?
Just about everything the panel said was just wrong. Factually wrong.
Example: both Ft. Hood shooters died.
Wow. Liars. All of them.
Oh, and I’m increasing my collection by one tonight.
So there.
Duh. Of course you’d be safer in a room with guns. Even if it existed in a “social vacuum” – you might need it to protect yourself from all the straw men that might barge into the room.
Nice round about way of saying everyone has a gun, therefore I need a gun. Lips knows how people react on DGU….no way regular people can be experts….umm ok. And Criminals don’t to Japan to commit crimes, because criminals commit crimes at home.
These folks analyze business and marketplace…..really, pure evidence that when this generation get to the helm….its the beginning of the end.
I’d be afraid if I were in a room with three glock forties. One word:
KABOOM
When your wife just rolls her eyes when you go on a :
” Those sorry A**, F*#&ing liberal gun grabber POS, need to die!” Rant….
I was in a cage with a young captive mountain lion a few years ago. He was tame but like most cats, ornery as all get out. His owner told me to never, ever turn my back on him. I had been throwing a chew toy back and forth across the 40 foot or so enclosure when he went to the opposite end to rest.
He was watching me and as soon as I turned to my wife to say something, he cleared the length of the enclosure soundlessly and landed all four paws on my back while nipping me with his canine teeth on the back of my neck. He probably weighed no more than 30 or 40 pounds and he was just playing but you get the idea. Wifey got the whole thing on video tape.
In my wasted youth (USFS) the numerous incidents of Mountain Lions stalking crews in the wild always made me carry a well sharpened fire shovel instead of a Mcleod or Pulaski
Problem with calipers is they generally only go out to about 6 inches. I generally need a 25 ft. tape measure for my groups.
Honestly, I think measuring shot groups with precision instruments officially qualifies you as a measurebator. I’ll change my mind if I ever see hickok45 do it.
Moms demand to be victims need to be educated on firearms or SHUT their mouths.As soon as you callthem to the carpet on their background and experience with firearms. They shut up and avoid the question!
I have a feeling Yee’s trial, despite the overwhelming evidence against him, will be an enormous clusterfuck. They’re going to use every trick in the book to try to keep him from getting what he deserves.
Lt. Cook,
As a Marine and National Guard veteran, I find your courage, fortitude, and character to be an example every military leader should strive for.
There are two types of leaders…
Those you would not follow across the street to 7-11
Those you would follow to hell on a one way trip
When the C-130 leaves for hell, let me know.
“Obviously you are safer with zero guns, than three guns.”
I stopped watching this derpfest at that point.
Why? It makes sense, haven’t you watched The Lord of The Rings? A gun nearby will whisper to you and when you finally grab it, the world turns dark and evil is homing in on you.
In the original cut of the movie, the One Ring was instead a 1911 made out of mithril which Sauron used to enslave the world (being the guy with the only gun kinda made it an advantage). Due to pressure from the NRA they had to replace it with a ring.
I hope Yee is sentenced to a few decades on Butt Raper Island.
Not a surprising tone from the otherwise know Orlando Slantinel.
From the article: “’It’s not that big of a school and we really don’t have much violence go on here, so I don’t think that’s really necessary,’ said Roger Garcia”.
Was Sandy Hook a large school? Was there “much violence” there? Do you think that having one or more armed guards would have been a good thing in that situation?
THIS is an example of:
“…our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
We need many, many more of these type examples.
But, I fear it may be too late as most of the people have been brainwashed in liberal BS from our Public Indoctrination Centers (aka Public Schools).
What a great way to solve Chicago’s overwhelming fiscal crisis. Declare the city drug free and gun free and get rid of the Police Department. Besides the direct savings, the city would save billions in lawsuit payments.
It would be more accurate to declare the quoted students as “intelligence free”.
Girl child goes to UT Austin. There are 120 police call boxes distributed throughout campus.
http://www.utexas.edu/police/services/callbox.html
Has anyone looked at the muzzle brake on the m107? Sig’s brake appears to be an elongated version of Barrett’s, so I see a case to be argued here.
Does it matter the age of the person playing the game? I recently saw a five year old blasting the hell out of rival combatants – all in bloody high definition detail – and he expressed such glee over each kill, I found it kind of chilling.
Oh no!!! Think of how many children this rifle must have killed by now!!! Wait…
Many of us feel exactly the same way. Lets hope that our leaders come to their senses and abolish “gun free zones” as the death traps they really are.