China has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the
world. For the second time in recent
memory mass murder was committed by knife wielding thugs. According to reports on Mar 1, 27 were killed
and 160 injured in the latest attack.
How many lives might have been saved by a lawfully armed citizen? We will never know because, like some of our
very own states, citizens can not carry a firearm for personal protection.
The incident in Yunnan
province is a tragedy. How many more
tragedies must occur before the anti-gun zealots realize that trained armed
citizens promote safety for all of us. I
don’t advocate giving just anyone a gun, I do agree with minimal standards, and
would like to see training being one of them, and a basic background check to
weed out criminals (who probably wouldn’t apply for a permit) and others who
shouldn’t be armed for a well-documented reason such as mental illness. Statistics show that lawfully armed citizens
have a damping effect on crime and a lethal effect on criminals.
This attack, and its
predecessors, was tragic. Unfortunately
I do not believe it is the last time we will see such headlines.
