People That Feel They Need to Carry a Gun are the Last That Should

On the evening of January 13, 2014, Chad Oulson and his wife Nicole were on a date night at the movie theater at Wesley Chapel, Florida. Their 3 year old daughter was home with a babysitter. Before the movie began, during the previews, Chad Olson texted the babysitter to check on his young daughter and that is what caught the attention of Curtis Reeves sitting behind the couple.  Reeves became annoyed at the text and first complained to Mr. Oulson, then to the movie manager, and when Reeves returned to his seat an argument erupted. Even though by this time Chad Oulson had turned off his phone the argument became loud, popcorn was thrown and suddenly Mr. Reeves pulled out his concealed handgun and shot Chad Oulson in the chest. Chad Oulson died of his wound and his wife Nicole was wounded in the hand trying to protect her husband.

Among the many disturbing aspects of this unnecessary gun tragedy is the fact that the gunman, Curtis Reeves, was a retired Tampa police captain with years of experience on gun training ranges. This despicable incident points out a deep flaw in the argument that allowing gun carry permits makes America safer. When a gun owner makes the claim that the person on the other side of the gun is a perceived threat and the gun owner is only defending himself the claim is often not accurate. This incident, and others like it, leads us to believe that many of those who carry guns for what they call self-defense are really engaged in intimidation and aggression.

The National Rifle Association continually attempts to persuade people they need to carry their concealed weapon despite the fact that the crime index in America has tumbled since the early 1990’s. We are safer from crime today than any time since crime record keeping began. In spite of the lower crime rate, those that profit from increased gun sales consistently attempt to convince us that down is up.

Fear is what drives the gun proponents in this country. Instilling fear has always been one of the best sales tools. By instilling fear the gun merchants manipulate people into supporting gun legislation that was unthinkable a few years ago. In blind faith gun fanatics pressure states like Arizona, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia to make it legal to carry a gun into a bar. Well, what can go wrong? Guns and booze never hurt anyone!