It is somewhat appropriate that I am traveling home from Europe on the day that this episode is airing.
In some countries in Europe, there is certainly an attitude that if we don't talk about guns, make guns hard to get and stigmatized the entire topic of responsible gun ownership, that everything will somehow be fine.
We know better.
Last week, despite severe restrictions and regulation, a young man here in Germany killed several people and injured two police officers before being shot and killed. This is the first "school shooting" in Germany since 2002, as far as I can tell. Yet, the television has been non-stop full of politicians and "every day people" calling for further restrictions against gun ownership and access.... as if that will solve the problem.
In the US, the educational elite will have us educate our children about Sex, Drugs, Alcohol and Driving.... all in the name of protecting them from things that are potentially dangerous. I happen to agree that this is the right approach. I have always been frustrated, therefore, by the incongruent approach that the same people have to firearms. One the one had, they are dangerous. BUT, we mustn't educate kids about their dangers or proper use because that could encourage problems. I don't have a lot of tolerance for that kind of illogical position.
The segment that I did in this episode about the possibility of using a dropped gun found during an active shooter situation to protect yourself is, unfortunately, very real. In some utopian environment, the information might be unnecessary, but I strongly believe that knowing how to use a firearm responsibly in today's society is not only prudent..... it is necessary.
-RJP