Gun debate 101<\/p>\n
Okay, so the other day, I\u2019m leaning against my work car in uniform.\u00a0 Pistol belt visible.\u00a0 I\u2019m clearly armed.\u00a0 A young couple walks by carrying a sign, clearly on their way to some protest.\u00a0 It was a picture of an AR15 with the red circle around it and line through it.\u00a0 The text was some blather about guns killing our children\u2014a reference to the Cruz shooting in Florida.\u00a0 They saw me and my gun and approached me.\u00a0 At first I thought their intent was to ridicule or goad, but they surprisingly asked where I was on the issue of gun control.<\/p>\n
At first I was going to give them the standard \u201cGun control is being able to hit your target\u201d line, but I opted to try to educate and be educated.\u00a0 I told them if they had some time, we could try to discuss the issue, but only if we stuck to facts and left emotion and political talking points out of it.\u00a0 The girl was skeptical, but I think the guy saw it as a challenge.\u00a0 Being of college age, and probably a former debate team guy, he had an itch to put this Republican in his place.\u00a0 Follows is the gist of our conversation.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 So you are on you way to a rally or protest.\u00a0 Are you protesting the actions of the shooter, or that he used an AR15 to commit it?<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 Well, both really.\u00a0 We\u2019re against civilians owning military assault weapons.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Is it because of their power?\u00a0 Magazine capacity? Looks?<\/p>\n
Her: Yes.\u00a0 That, and it has only one purpose\u2014to kill.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Well, isn\u2019t that the purpose of every gun?\u00a0 But let\u2019s shelf that right now.\u00a0 How much do you know about the shooting in Florida?<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 A deranged guy who used to be a student there went in with an assault rifle and shot the place up killing 17 people.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Do you know any of the specifics?\u00a0 How many rounds he fired?\u00a0 How long the attack lasted?\u00a0 His method of target selection?<\/p>\n
Both:\u00a0 No, not really.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Well, I do.\u00a0 See, that\u2019s what individual research will get you\u2014answers, rather than relying on the media to tell me what I need to know.\u00a0 Cruz fired over 100 rounds in about 6 minutes.<\/p>\n
Her (shuddering for dramatic effect):\u00a0 That\u2019s a lot and a long time.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 No, and yes.\u00a0 100 rounds is only four magazines, less than that, really.\u00a0 But six minutes is a long time when you\u2019re under fire.<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 How do you know that?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Iraq.\u00a0 2003-2004.\u00a0 But back to the attack.\u00a0 100 rounds in 6 minutes.\u00a0 Sounds like he was prepared for a long fight and to shoot a lot of people.\u00a0 You think that if he was committed to the act, he would have been prepared, would have had a LOT of magazines?<\/p>\n
Both:\u00a0 Yes, sure.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 I haven\u2019t found out yet how many magazines he had.\u00a0 But 100 rounds means he had at least 4 (30 rounds each), or that he stopped and reloaded during those six minutes.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know about him, but that\u2019s not what I would do\u2014reload, that is.\u00a0 I\u2019d be prepared for a siege.\u00a0 I could reload magazines after I\u2019m holed up in negotiations.<\/p>\n
Both:\u00a0 (nodding)<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 But 100 rounds in 6 minutes.\u00a0 Averaged out, that is 17 rounds per minute; a little over half a magazine per minute.\u00a0 One round every 3.5 seconds.\u00a0 Now, again, we don\u2019t know the specifics of the attack.\u00a0 We do know that he pulled the fire alarm to get the students evacuating and fired into them in the hallway before he started hunting in particular rooms.\u00a0 So, he probably fired a lot in the first 2 minutes and tapered off after that as he hunted and searched.\u00a0 Make sense?<\/p>\n
Both: (nodding)<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Do you know the relative costs between rifles and pistols?<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 I know an AR15 is expensive, over $1500.\u00a0 Pistols aren\u2019t that much.<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 Yes, most people can\u2019t afford an AR15.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 You can actually buy a basic AR rifle for about $500-$600.\u00a0 Then you\u2019d need some optics for it and magazines and ammo.\u00a0 Magazines are about $10-$20 each online and ammo from the same website is $40 per hundred.\u00a0 A basic 4 power magnification sight runs about $75.\u00a0 So, $500, $120, $40, $75\u2026less than $750, Cruz could buy everything he needed.<\/p>\n
You see my pistol right here?\u00a0 I bought one a generation older, legally, from a gun store, for $275.\u00a0 Magazines for it on the same website are $12 each.\u00a0 They hold 15 rounds.\u00a0 Ammo on that website is $14 for a box of 50.\u00a0 I could duplicate Cruz\u2019s arsenal in pistol form for $399, about half price.\u00a0 One pistol, 8 magazines to get me to the same 120 capacity, and 100 rounds.<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 What are you getting at?\u00a0 It sounds like you are trying to confuse us with a bunch of numbers.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Only if you are that easily distracted.\u00a0 No, what I\u2019m saying is his weapon of choice is irrelevant.\u00a0 I could do the same thing with a hand gun for almost half price.<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 But a rifle has greater range, is more accurate!\u00a0 (Smilingly indignantly.)<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 He is shooting into a hallway for the most part, probably 10 or 12 feet across.\u00a0 If he was smart, and by all indications, he was, he would let them come close so that they\u2019d be bunched up tight.\u00a0 The 12 feet width of the hallway wouldn\u2019t matter anymore.\u00a0 I recently qualified with this pistol.\u00a0 Target ranges were from 7 feet all the way to 45 feet.\u00a0 The AR has a 16 inch barrel giving it greater accuracy at great ranges.\u00a0 Then there is his scope.\u00a0 My pistol has a 4-inch barrel and no optics, just 3 dots to line up.\u00a0 I shot a perfect 100%.\u00a0 Cruz missed wildly, obviously as he didn\u2019t hit 100 times out of 100 shots.\u00a0 He killed 17 people, and wounded 17 more.\u00a0 34 out of a 100.\u00a0 That’s one third.\u00a0 I hit 50 out of 50.<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 What is your point?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 I could do worse with my cheap pistol than he did with his expensive rifle.\u00a0 This Glock was also recently in the running for the US Army\u2019s new standard pistol.\u00a0 Does that mean it also should not be allowed to be privately owned?\u00a0 It is a military design, and by my confession, potentially more lethal.<\/p>\n
Her: \u00a0So, no, you shouldn\u2019t be able to have one of those.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Well, I also have another pistol in the same caliber with an equal number of magazines.\u00a0 Should I not have one of those?<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 I bet you have a lot of guns.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Indeed.<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 Why do you need so many guns?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 I like guns.\u00a0 I grew up with them.\u00a0 My father taught me how to shoot.\u00a0 He also taught me to respect guns.\u00a0 They are not toys, but rather, tools.\u00a0 I taught my son the same way.\u00a0 He has several, too.\u00a0 My wife also shoots.\u00a0 She has a couple and shoots mine quite well.\u00a0 We belong to a shooting range so that we maintain our proficiency.\u00a0 Oh, and we\u2019ve never killed anyone.<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t answer my question, at all.\u00a0 You\u2019re dodging my question.\u00a0 Why do you need so many?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 It is how I choose to protect myself and my family.\u00a0 What do you do to defend yourself?<\/p>\n
Both:\u00a0 That\u2019s what the police are for.<\/p>\n
Me: So the police are to be relied on for protection against the bad guys whenever they decide to break into my home, or try to rob me on the street?<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 That\u2019s their job.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Actually, no it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 Are you aware the police are under no legal responsibility to save your life?\u00a0 They are there to stop crime from happening, when possible, but even if that is true, why do so many car jackings, home invasions, murders, and robberies occur?\u00a0 Are you saying the police are inept at their jobs?<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 Well, they can\u2019t be everywhere at once.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 So, if they aren\u2019t around, I\u2019m supposed to just let some crack head take my money, or rape my wife?\u00a0 It\u2019s just a case of bad timing, my bad luck?<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 (no answer)<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Do you remember that church shooting in Texas?<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 Sort of.<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 No.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 It was only last November.\u00a0 A guy went into a church and killed 26 people and wounded 20 more.<\/p>\n
Her: (interrupting)\u00a0 See?\u00a0 My point.\u00a0 If he didn\u2019t have that gun, he couldn\u2019t have done that.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Of course he could have.\u00a0 He\u2019d have just used something else.\u00a0 But a neighbor heard it, went to his gun safe and grabbed an AR15.\u00a0 He then ran barefoot to a vantage point and placed two well aimed shots between the body armor plates the killer was wearing and the guy not only stopped, he fled to his car.\u00a0 Then the hero, still barefoot, got into a vehicle with another passerby and the chased him to make sure he couldn\u2019t hurt anyone else. \u00a0No police anywhere around.\u00a0 The guy killed himself in his car.\u00a0 Partially to your point, the killer shouldn\u2019t have had that gun or any gun.\u00a0 He had a prior domestic violence conviction and was barred from buying, even owning a gun.\u00a0 But he still did.<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 So what is your point?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 A good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun, whether he is a cop or a legal gun owner.<\/p>\n
Her (with him nodding) What are we supposed to do, learn to live with this killing?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Of course not.\u00a0 But we have to get smart about how we defend ourselves and how we stop bad guys from getting guns.<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 How?\u00a0 Where does it start?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Look at this from a few steps back.\u00a0 Do you think Cruz would have killed and wounded so many if the armed guard present and on duty wasn\u2019t a coward, and actually entered the building and confronted him?<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 So we put cops in all our schools?\u00a0 Make them all prisons?<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 We have cops or armed guards in all our banks.\u00a0 Are we guarding the tellers and bank officers?\u00a0 No, we\u2019re protecting our money.\u00a0 We have very few bank robberies.\u00a0 Are you saying that our money is more important than our kids?<\/p>\n
Both:\u00a0 Silenced.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 But we started talking about military styled weapons.\u00a0 Look at these two pictures.\u00a0 They are two rifles I own.\u00a0 (A Remington R25, and Remington 700.)\u00a0 What are your thoughts?\u00a0 Should I be allowed to own these?<\/p>\n
Him:\u00a0 Well, the green one is probably okay (the R25), but the black one?\u00a0 No way.\u00a0 Look at the size of that scope.\u00a0 That gun is clearly a sniper rifle.\u00a0 Way too much for a civilian to own.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Is it the scope, or the color, or the sophisticated stock that disqualifies it in your mind?<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 All of that and more.\u00a0 It probably shoots a mile.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 Well, they are both the same caliber, and it is a bigger, far more powerful than the one Cruz used.\u00a0 The green one, actually camouflaged, holds twenty rounds, while the black one holds only 4.\u00a0 I even have a drum magazine for the green one that holds 100 rounds.\u00a0 The scope on the black one is powerful, but the scope on the green one also has a red dot capability that means I don\u2019t even have to aim it.\u00a0 The bullet hits where the red dot is.\u00a0 So, based solely on looks, you\u2019re letting me have a rifle infinitely more deadly.<\/p>\n
Both:\u00a0 (Shuffling a little)<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 This isn\u2019t about looks, is it?\u00a0 You have no concept about guns.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t bother asking me about the parameters of either rifle. You just don\u2019t like them.\u00a0 Which makes them evil, and by extension, me. You just want all guns confiscated.\u00a0 Right?<\/p>\n
Her:\u00a0 You\u2019re an asshole.<\/p>\n
Me:\u00a0 One willing to protect you.\u00a0 Have a nice protest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gun debate 101 Okay, so the other day, I\u2019m leaning against my work car in uniform.\u00a0 Pistol belt visible.\u00a0 I\u2019m clearly armed.\u00a0 A young couple walks by carrying a sign, clearly on their way to some protest.\u00a0 It was a picture of an AR15 with the red circle around it and line through it.\u00a0 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":373,"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions\/373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writeofcenter.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}