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Brian Greenspun’s Sunday Where I Stand column “Fighting senseless gun violence with dollars and cents” makes some interesting conjecture.
First, that more gun control will reduce gun violence. Some of our largest cities have the strictest gun laws in the country. Cites such as Detroit, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles still have problems with gun violence.
Second, that the additional stress of school shootings is causing productivity problems.
That may be true in the short term but overall, not likely.
We’ve had 50 years of progressive ideas about how to end gun violence. One of those ideas is gun-free zones such as our schools. For the mentally unstable shooter, these are target-rich environments. They aren’t ignorant, just mentally unbalanced.
It’s time to take a new approach: a new law that requires every law-abiding citizen to be armed. It would require everyone to purchase a handgun and a holster, pass a background check including their mental state, and receive instruction on the gun’s use and care. Local and state laws would have to be changed about when it can be used, and the handgun could be carried in the open where everyone can see it. By the way, we still have the right to open carry in Clark County.
Shortly after every law-abiding citizen is armed, the only gun violence would be law-abiding citizens shooting paper silhouettes at the local gun range.
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