Strict Gun Laws = Mass Shootings

As America watches coverage of yet another mass shooting tragedy, gun owners shake our heads and grit out teeth because we know the ugly topic of gun control will raise its head again. But mapping where these horrible events take place clearly shows that tough gun laws at best, do nothing to keep them from happening and at worst, create an environment that allows those who wish to use guns against innocents to do so with little impediment.

Look at the most recent incidents:

December 2, 2015: San Bernardino, California

November 27, 2015: Colorado Springs, Colorado

November 22, 2015: New Orleans, Louisiana (17 people shot, though you may not have heard about it. None died, and the suspect arrested was African-American, which doesn’t fit the left’s narrative about gun-owning white racists being the most likely to kill).

December 14, 2012: Sandy Hook, Connecticut

So, what do these shootings have in common? Well, they all occurred in states that already have some of the country’s strictest gun laws. According to this article on the Deseret News website, the 10 states with the toughest gun laws include Connecticut, at #5 and California at #1. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gives letter grades to each state, the more restrictions placed on legal ownership of firearms, the higher the grade. Connecticut and California both get As, and Colorado gets a C. Louisiana in 2013 was given an F, by the way.

The point is, when you block law-abiding citizens from owning and carrying guns, you render them defenseless. Anyone planning to kill innocent citizens are clearly not worried about breaking gun laws, which do nothing but assure criminals and terrorists that they will not meet any civilian opposition. Anywhere there is an armed populace has a certain level of protection built in. A gun-free state is an easy mark. A society where carrying is common, not so much. I always issue an ironic chuckle when I see a “Gun Free Zone” sign posted at a school or business. They might as well post “Defenseless lambs ready for the slaughter” signs instead.

Unfortunately, that common sense idea is apparently beyond the intellectual abilities of gun control advocates, but that doesn’t mean we can’t keep trying to get them to see the light.