Amid deafening cracks of gunfire, smoke-spewing canisters and the flight of thousands of New Life Church members, Jeanne Assam said she suddenly saw the hallways clear and a gunman come through the door.
"I took cover. I identified myself. I engaged him. I took him down," the 42-year-old former law officer and volunteer church security guard said Monday at a news conference in the Colorado Springs police station.
Granted there are reports coming out that this gunman killed themselves, but I'm using this story to illustrate a point.
When Virginia Tech experienced their slaughter of 30+ people, everyone came out of the woodwork to say "Let's take a look at gun control". And it got widespread attention.
Yet, no one seems to tout stories like these on the opposite side of the spectrum. No one, except the NRA seems to want to stand up for the rights of legal gun owners. No one wants to say "See! One of our own stopped a tragedy from becoming worse".
Well I want that to happen. I want the media to report more about how we should take a look at some gun control laws in this nation and how we can better make it less of a burden on law abiding citizens and more difficult for criminals.
How's this? Lift any bans on machine guns, silencers, and other "exotic" weapons. In return, any gun used in a felony is an automatic X amount of years in jail, plus you you get the usual time in jail for said crime.
That reduces the costs of exotic weaponry, which can be gotten with proper permits and a LOT of money.
For example, I can legally buy a silencer, but I must get a permit from the ATF and pay a one time, $200 fee.
An MP5, which is used by SWAT teams all across the country, is sold to police at around $1,500-$2,000 per weapon. That same weapon, because of all the legalities, will run you $8,500 at a local gun dealer here in my neck of the woods.
How is that fair to the law abiding citizens? Why should someone be penalized for wanting an exotic weapon like the extremely long range sniper weapon like the Barrett .50 caliber rifle?
Why should they pay more simply because some criminals decided to use a weapon that the law abiding citizen likes?
While we're at it, let's make jail and prison much more unlikable. I see no reason for my tax dollars to pay for gym equipment that will make these thugs bigger and stronger then ever before.
Let's make them pay their own way. X amount of dollars per day and they can pay for it with jobs in the jail.
Sell off prison labor to private companies. These private companies get to pay a little below minimum wage, say $4 an hour per person, we get to keep the difference. Prisons can then become almost self sufficient.
And to top it off, make prison work agreeable. Reward them with massive time off for good behavior. Punish them for bad.
The details would need to be whacked out, but the idea is solid.
I don't mind coming up with a solution for your problem as long as you keep an open mind to the problem I'm trying to resolve.
Travis
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