President Donald Trump is not even pretending to care about seriously preventing gun violence anymore after he openly endorsed the “good guy with a gun” talking point the NRA always uses in addition to “thoughts and prayers” after a mass shooting.
For years, the NRA has been insisting that “guns everywhere” is the only way to stop mass shooters, a claim that has been consistently proven wrong over the years, particularly at the Parkland school shooting in 2018 when 17 were killed despite an armed deputy being on duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
At a church in White Settlement, Texas on Sunday, a gunman rose from the congregation and killed two with a shotgun before being shot a killed by a member of the church security team. Jack Wilson, a former reserve deputy for the Hood County Sheriff’s Office, has firearm training. And his past training as a deputy gave him the experience necessary to react quickly to the situation to save lives.
Trump seized upon the heroic actions of Wilson to praise Texas gun laws, which are incredibly weak, but only after once again offering “thoughts and prayers” for the victims.
Our prayers are with the families of the victims and the congregation of yesterday’s church attack. It was over in 6 seconds thanks to the brave parishioners who acted to protect 242 fellow worshippers. Lives were saved by these heroes, and Texas laws allowing them to carry arms!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
Trump would go on to tweet about the shooting again on Tuesday, further pushing the “good guy with a gun” claim.
Armed congregants quickly stopped a crazed church shooter in Texas. If it were not for the fact that there were people inside of the church that were both armed, and highly proficient in using their weapon, the end result would have been catastrophic. A big THANK YOU to them!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2019
Again, not everyone is as proficient with firearms as a former reserve deputy. Just because a highly trained individual saved the day in a small church, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for everyone to carry guns. And it certainly does not mean we should have guns in schools, theaters, concerts and elsewhere. One of the reasons why this shooter did not kill more people is because he was using a shotgun and not an assault weapon such as an AR-15.
Twitter users were quick to condemn Trump for supporting weaker gun laws in the wake of a tragedy that could have been much worse and should not have even happened in the first place.
It’s good there were armed people to take out the shooter, but your emphasis should be on how to reduce the number of guns in the U.S. and establish a more peaceful culture.
— Jeffrey Guterman (@JeffreyGuterman) December 31, 2019
The exceptions proves the rule:
Las Vegas = 59 dead and over 850 wounded.
Orlando = 50 dead and 58 wounded.
Virginia Tech= 32 dead 17 wounded.
Sutherland Springs, Tx. = 26 dead and 20 wounded.
Newtown, Ct. = 26 dead (20 small children and 6 adult educators) and 2 wounded.— Thorsten (@Airvooocht) December 31, 2019
Killeen, Tx. = 23 dead and 27 wounded.
El Paso, Tx. – 22 dead and 24 wounded.
San Yisidro, Ca. = 20 dead and 16 wounded.
Parkland, Fla. = 17 dead and 17 wounded.
Austin, Tx. = 15 dead and 31 wounded.
Columbine = 15 dead and 21 wounded.
San Bernadino = 14 dead and 22 wounded.— Thorsten (@Airvooocht) December 31, 2019
This isn’t the Wild West. We are a modern nation with a modern law enforcement force, like Great Britain. No one needs to expect to be in a shoot out to be safe in their own nation. That’s insanity.
— Steward Beckham (@iTweetyNerd) December 31, 2019
because a shootout in a church is exactly what our founders had in mind when they wrote the second amendment
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) December 31, 2019
Now do Parkland, where the man with a gun didn’t have a chance against an AR-15.
Now do Las Vegas, where a crowd had no idea how to fight back against a man with a rifle hundreds of feet above them.
Even with this outcome, two people still died.
Less guns make us safer.
— St. Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) December 31, 2019
Respectfully, what’s your plan for keeping the gun out of the hand of the perpetrator in the first place? He killed two people in their place of worship.
— David Jolly (@DavidJollyFL) December 31, 2019
Trump is clearly angling for further NRA support ahead of the 2020 Election. After all, the NRA poured millions of dollars into his 2016 campaign. What our country needs are tighter laws that would prevent guns from ending up in the wrong hands in the first place. It’s fortunate that an armed security guard had the law enforcement training and the nerve to stop a shooter. But this is a rare case no matter what Trump and the NRA say and it offers no proof whatsoever that more guns are the solution to gun violence.
It also shouldn’t be lost that the person who shot the church shooter was hardly just an “average Joe” or anything of the sort. Fact is, he was an instructor and affiliated with law enforcement:
Paxton said the head of security, Jack Wilson, was the only person who shot at Kinnunen, and he fired just once. The shot killed the gunman.Along with being the head of security, Wilson is a former reserve deputy sheriff who is a firearms instructor, Paxton said.“My understanding is, he was a reserve deputy and had significant training …”
Featured Image: YouTube screenshot
