Posted this on Poli Board too; Mass Shooting related...

I know I may be preaching to the choir here with all the gun guys on this board but here are some good points to discuss if the topic comes up. Changing minds starts with solid factual data and building an argument from there. Those who are overly emotional shouldn't be worried about, but those on the fence need to hear good info.

If you have anything to add go ahead and do so.

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I never post here and may get AIDs from doing so but here's a PSA:

I'm no firearm historian but a quick google search told me that the first semi automatic handgun was invented back in 1892. For those who can't count that is 126 years.

Firearms are actually pretty simple tools when you get down to the basics. Where technology has improved in more recent years comes with improvements in accuracy and more consistency in ammunition. As far as the basic parts of an AR15, I could grab an M16 from the Vietnam era and swap parts with one of my personal AR15s.

And for those considering magazine bans, consider this - a magazine is simply a box with a spring in it. The rise of 3D printers makes virtually anyone capable of printing a box and putting a spring in it. Know that Cho was able to kill 32 at Virginia Tech back in 2007 with a bunch of 10 round magazines. The average response time for police is around 8 minutes nationally and a person can reload a whole bunch of times in 8 minutes.

A controversial solution maybe, but as a firearms instructor I think our best way to defend schools against these psychopaths is to have a defense plan tailored to each school, with a handpicked group of armed teachers. Every school can have its own method of properly storing the firearms (obviously away from the children) and it can train teachers exactly how they want them to train. The teachers can voluntarily choose to be one of these teachers and the school can decide if it wishes for the person to be armed. I don't necessarily dislike the idea of armed security at schools but that leaves it up to one single first responder rather than turning trained volunteers into first responders. I think thoroughly training and empowering teachers would be much more effective.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that teachers have been armed in Utah since Sandy Hook happened.

I too am just as bothered seeing these kids torn up emotionally and hearing of how many died. I can't imagine being a parent and losing a child. But the only way for these crimes to decrease in number is for these psychos to encounter resistance right after their evil plans begin. Mass shooters are just like predators in the wild - they want weak, soft prey. And when the prey fight back, the predators are much more likely to crumble and retreat.