He’s Got a Gun
By Paul Alturis
So today I was carrying around an obviously empty gun holster, because of the Open Holster Protest that Students for Concealed Carry on Campus is doing this week. For those of you who don’t know, we’re protesting the law that bans the possession of firearms on campus, and we are attempting to get a law passed or modified that would allow those with concealed carry permits to carry legal firearms concealed on NC State property.
You can read about that elsewhere. My concern is this. I had an empty holster, right? Obviously empty, no mistaking that. This girl just about freaked out today in one of my early classes. She seemed downright scared of the mere implication that I might have a gun, even though I’d assured her that I did not.
That’s what this note is about: People being afraid of guns.
Despite what everyone’s taught, not all gun owners are the hooligans you see on TV, itching for a chance to pull out their gun and start blasting anyone who looks at them crosswise. This isn’t the Wild West. Most legal gun owners are so painfully aware of the strict laws governing their weapons, that they might hesitate to use their guns even in a clear-cut self defense situation where lethal force is necessary. Let me say this:
I’m a pretty nice guy. I’ve become a little more aggressive since entering college, but even so, most of those that know me know that it’s nigh impossible to get me into even a fist fight. I am by and large a very gentle person. I like to think that I’m pretty likable, and easy to get along with.
But I own a gun, and shoot it regularly.
Does that change my personality in any way? No. It doesn’t. Does it make me more likely to resort to force to solve a conflict? No. In fact, it has the opposite effect. When I’m carrying, I don’t want to use force unless absolutely necessary, because once that trigger has been pulled, there’s no taking anything back, and I don’t want to have to kill anyone. Bloodshed is ALWAYS a shame. Sometimes it is a necessary evil, but I think that the shedding of human blood, even the blood of evil men, makes heaven weep for every drop.
Why do I own and train in the use of a firearm, then? Because there are those out there who do not share my feelings. There are those who would shed your blood and mine just because you looked at them wrong. These people also own firearms. And while bloodshed is indeed a horrible thing, much better the blood of an evil man shed than that of an innocent. That is why I own a handgun. So that I may present a balanced threat against those that would harm me or others close to me.
Some people are naturally afraid of handguns, or guns of any type. Let me assure you, they are merely tools. They must be loaded, cocked, and fired by human hands. In the hands of an evil man, they can cause great pain. But in the hands of a good man, they can stop the evil man before he has a chance to hurt anyone. Just like any tool,they can cause destruction, or they can make things right. They can enhance the ability of an evil man to do evil, or a good man to do good. So should you not be even LESS afraid of a good man if he has a gun?
Laws aside for the moment, let’s look at a scenario here. Let’s say you are sitting in a class in college, let’s say Dabney 124, the dreaded Chemistry room. That’s what, 200 seats? 200 people, let’s say it’s packed out today. You’re sitting beside this guy, and he’s quietly concentrating on what the teacher is saying, just like everyone else. His coat falls open a little, and you see the butt of a gun hanging from a concealed shoulder holster. He’s not even looking at you, and he hasn’t made any display of aggression at all. Should you feel threatened?
No. You should feel safe. Why? Because he’s on your side. Yes, he’s more dangerous than you. Yes, he’s more deadly than you. Yes, he could probably kill you if he wanted to. But he hasn’t given any inclination of wanting to. He’s just a normal student, but a student with a gun. A tool. Right now, that tool is not being used, or even brandished. It’s inert. Right now, it’s a piece of metal and nothing more.
A man kicks in a door in the front of the room and strides into the classroom, holding a gun in each hand. He’s obviously out for blood, and immediately takes aim at the audience. Including you.
<censored for misuse of “God”>, it’s Virginia Tech all over again.
The guy beside you smoothly stands up, draws and racks his gun, and yells “Drop your weapons!” while taking aim at the shooter. The shooter reacts immediately, bringing both his weapons to bear on the immediate threat, the student with the gun. By standing up and intervening, not only has he slowed the shooter down from killing others, he has the shooter’s attention focused on him. If he’s going to get to you, he has to go through the armed student. And likely if the student fails to hit his mark, he will be the first to be shot. He has just put himself directly between you and a speeding bullet.
The student opens fire immediately and the shooter falls to the ground, dropping his weapons. The student quickly descends the stairs and grabs the weapons and extra ammunition on the shooter. All in all, the shooter had four thirteen-round clips: 52 rounds of ammunition. Had no one stepped in , that’s 52 people that he could have killed. Fifty-two people. That’s a quarter of the class, lying on the floor in pools of their own blood, with colleagues crying over them, parents, siblings, friends, maybe even children, that would never have seen them again, if that shooter had been allowed to continue. And what stopped him? What allowed those people who would otherwise have been fated to die today, to continue living their lives? To come home to those parents and siblings and children, to smile and feel the warmth of love in their spouse’s eyes? A man with a gun.
One day, if the law is ever passed to allow carry on campus, that could be me or one of my friends, and it could be your life we’re saving. In all likelihood, in a classroom that size there would be several armed students, more than a match for a single shooter. You shouldn’t be afraid of us, because we carry our guns for that single moment. The moment where we step between an innocent and an assailant, whether literally or figuratively, and say “I’m going to stop you.” We are the people that could be saving your life, and would given the opportunity.
We could be like some of the other students and cower or run in fear, hoping that he runs out of bullets before he gets to us, but instead, we will stand up and say “I will be your first and only.” Make no mistake, taking that action is putting our own lives in danger. In all likelihood, we will be shot in such a scenario. But every bullet that goes toward us is one that doesn’t go toward you, and if we can manage to stop the shooter before he even shoots us, well, we value our own lives as well.
So those guys that are carrying around holsters this week are not saying “I’m a violent gun fanatic. Fear me.” Instead, they are making a much bolder statement, if a more grim one. Those carrying around empty holsters this week are saying “Should I be allowed, I am one who will stand between you and the bullet. Should I be allowed, I will lay down my life to protect you.”
Please, don’t be scared of us. We stand between you and those that would see you harmed. We are good men and women, lovers of peace, who wish to be empowered against those who would bring terror and pain to your life. If given the chance, we would put our lives in danger to save yours.
