On concealed weapons and the Orlando shooter

I don't believe for a second that someone with a concealed weapon would have stopped the shooting had he not known of his presence. But I do think that if someone was alerted to the gunman's presence taking him down would have been more likely. It would have been unlikely that there would have been a three hour killing spree.

I do believe that one person with a concealed weapon would have minimized the loss of lives; not that he had some kind of spidey sense to prevent the unthinkable.

But if the timelines are accurate, and a hostage situation actually did occur, I think it would have been possible for a concealed weapon carrier to shoot the guy at some opportune time.

At the core of modern liberalism

Modern liberalism pats itself on the back for having good intentions even if the policies modern liberals pursue obviously don't work.

So whether it's stripping U.S. citizens of their right to work for whatever wage they want (via the minimum wage law), or stripping U.S. citizens of the right to defend themselves (via gun control), what matters most to the liberal mindset is that their "good intentions" were revealed to all.

Gun Control Advocates' Ignorance of Russia, Mexico, and Brazil's Higher Murder Rates

Gun control zealots' choice of Britain for comparison with the United States has been wholly tendentious, not only because it ignored the history of the two countries, but also because it ignored other countries with stronger gun control laws than the United States, such as Russia, Brazil and Mexico. All of these countries have higher murder rates than the United States.

Thomas Sowell, Invincible Ignorance 

Liberals: Gun Control leads to violation of other rights; Conservatives: The right to bear arms is violated with Stop-and-Frisk

Anthony Gregory of the Independent Institute explains:

Even today, gun laws are much like drug laws in that they are disproportionately used against minorities. Gun control is the chief impetus behind New York City’s Stop-and-Frisk program, which in 2011 ensnared young black men more times than there are young black men in the city, and targets minorities by a ratio of nine to one. Conservatives who defend this program are defending gun control at its most invasive—the wholesale profiling and searching of people in the attempt to procure guns, which conservatives claim people have a natural and constitutional right to carry in the first place. Liberals opposed to this program should recognize that to violate gun rights, government must violate other rights.

He also quotes a former Black Panther party leader on the matter:

Elaine Brown, head of the Black Panther Party in the 1970s, recently explained:
The position of the Black Panther Party was that black people live in communities occupied by police forces that are armed and dangerous and represent the frontline of forces keeping us oppressed. We did not promote guns, but rather, the right to defend ourselves against a state that was oppressing us — with guns. There were innumerable incidents in which police agents kicked in our doors or shot our brothers and sisters in what we called red-light trials, where the policeman was the judge, the jury and the executioner. We called for an immediate end to this brutality, and advocated for our right to self-defense.  

On Reagan:

As governor of California, Reagan signed the Mulford Act into law in 1967. Written by Republican Assemblyman Don Mulford, the legislation was the most sweeping state edict in all the country, prohibiting the more or less free carrying of firearms in public. It went along with the rest of his heavy-handed entire law-and-order agenda and inspired an avalanche of new gun laws nationwide.The purpose of the law was to disarm the Black Panthers, a radical leftist group that openly carried firearms, kept an eye out on the police, and even took their rifles to the state Capitol to protest what they decried as racist legislation. (bold edits are my own ~GR)

The Tea Party and the Black Panthers have something in common. Strange bedfellows.

Will Liberals now call for 'Knife Control' with Ohio Dark Night Copycat?

Gun kills people, and so do knives, and this copycat had plenty, so why don't liberals call for knife control?

From The New York Daily News:

Scott Smith, of North Ridgeville, had a beige satchel that raised suspicion when he entered the theater. After Smith took a seat, an off-duty Westlake police officer who was providing security to the movie theater asked to search the bag.

The officer found a loaded 9mm Glock handgun, multiple loaded magazines and three knives inside, Westlake Police Lt. Ray Arcuri said. An additional knife was found underneath his clothes.

Guns Sales Are Up, People More Interested in Concealed-Weapon Training

From the NYPost:

Dick Rutan, owner of Gunners Den in suburban Arvada, Colo., said requests for concealed-weapon training certification "are off the hook." His four-hour course in gun safety, required for certification for a concealed-weapons permit in Colorado, has drawn double the interest since Friday.

"What they're saying is: They want to have a chance. They want to have the ability to protect themselves and their families if they are in a situation like what happened in the movie theater," Rutan said.

Gun sales surging in wake of 'Dark Knight Rises' shooting || NYPost

Obama Administration Pushes United Nation Anti-Gun Agenda

From Forbes:

The Obama administration is actively engaged in negotiations to finalize details for a new global agreement premised to fight “terrorism”, “insurgency” and “international crime syndicates”. As U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon describes its purpose, “Our goal is clear: a robust and legally binding Arms Trade Treaty that will have a real impact on the lives of those millions of people suffering from consequences of armed conflict, repression and armed violence…It is ambitious, but it is achievable.”

Under the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. originally voted against a resolution that began the process in 2006. However, the current administration reversed that policy, and strongly supports its enactment. In January 2010, U.S. representatives joined with those of 152 other countries in endorsing a U.N. Arms Treaty Resolution to draft a blueprint for enactment in 2012. This activity is planned to be completed by July 27, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged to push hard for Senate ratification. Previously led by the United Kingdom, there can be no doubt that the U.N.’s 193-member General Assembly will approve it.

The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty: Are Our 2nd Amendment Rights Part Of The Deal? || Forbes

Bizarro Land: Giving Guns to Rebels, Drug Cartels, et al

Why does the U.S. Government give tax-payer funded military resources to rebels in Libya and drug dealers in Mexico but ban these same weapons to U.S. citizens?

Why do we then declare war on these people years later when they threaten us with the very weapons we gave them?

Why do we act surprised?

Where are these people’s licenses and registration for these weapons?

Why don’t they go through the bureaucracy?

We live in Bizarro Land...