The recent shooting at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement, Texas is a dramatic case study in the virtue of armed self-defense by ordinary citizens. A maniac pulled a shotgun from under his hooded black trench coat, jumped up and opened fire, killing two parishioners. Jack Wilson, a deacon and member of the well-trained church security team, sprang into action along with four other armed team members who had been monitoring the suspicious-looking assailant. In 6-seconds it was all over. Wilson shot and killed the assailant, saving the rest of the 240 congregants from what could have been a massacre.
To apply the term favored by former President Obama, this was a “teachable moment” about civil defense from an armed citizenry. But apparently not for the legions of anti-gun liberals, politicians and media types who failed to get the message or willfully ignored it. Law-abiding citizens with concealed carry permits are the first line of defense from individual or mass shootings. For all the commendable and heroic work done by the police, they are rarely able to prevent crimes. In most instances, they can only respond to a crime that’s already taken place. After a homicide, they’ll arrive at the crime scene, put up that yellow barrier ribbon, draw a chalk outline around the body and assign detectives to investigate. Law enforcement can’t realistically defend you from shooters, that’s up to you.
Apparently, Democrat presidential wannabe Michael Bloomberg disagrees. At a campaign event in Alabama after the shooting he disapprovingly declared: “It’s the job of law enforcement to have guns and decide when to shoot. You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.” This is the same Bloomberg who didn’t even trust New Yorkers with 16-ounce soft drink cups.
Elizabeth Warren was even worse. A questioner at her campaign rally asserted the only thing that saved the rest of the congregation was the armed church members who took out the shooter. So, he asked her if she supports government-licensed concealed carry. “No,” Warren responded, to enthusiastic applause from her sycophantic followers, “I wouldn’t feel any safer” in a church where parishioners might be armed. Do you think the survivors in that Texas church would now agree?
Warren then offered this explanation: “The first part is, I say that the reason those people were injured was that somebody came into that church with a gun. And that’s how it is that people got hurt in the first place. The second thing is, I don’t think there’s data to suggest that universal concealed carry makes any of us safe.”
Read that idiotic statement again carefully. She’s equating a maniacal killer with a gun, undeterred by the law ─ especially gun control laws ─ with law-abiding church goers who used their guns to kill him and save others. The stunning video capturing the 6-second gun battle ought to satisfy any reasonable person’s need for evidence.
Last September, Joe Biden slammed Texas Governor Greg Abbott for signing a law ─ after another mass shooting ─ allowing lawful gun owners to carry guns into places of worship. Biden declared the law “absolutely, totally irrational.” Do you still think that’s irrational, Joe?
The usual suspects in the media weren’t any better. In keeping with their dogmatic and simplistic anti-gun bias, they spun their coverage of the event, downplaying its significance as testimony to the wisdom and practicality of armed civilians as the best defense and deterrent against homicidal mass murderers. The Babylon Bee, which deals in scathing social and political satire, sardonically lampooned the liberal media coverage. Here are some excerpts from its “reporting,” under the headline: “Media Disappointed To Learn Armed Citizen Stopped Mass Shooting.”
“We are absolutely heartbroken and in shock over here,” said one New York Times journalist. “What could have given us weeks and weeks of frothing-at-the-mouth stories about gun control will now have to be suppressed since it does not align with our agenda.”
“Outlets like CNN, MSNBC and ABC News confirmed that they carefully look over the facts of a given case to see if it lines up with the correct opinions before deciding to push it incessantly for weeks on end.”
“The media didn’t even try to find children who were present during the shooting to parade around talk shows and put on the covers of magazines for a full year this time around.”
Mass murders aren’t the “new normal,” they’re the old abnormal but they continue to occur. Wishful thinking isn’t an effective defense or remedy.
Longtime KOA radio talk host and columnist for the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News Mike Rosen now writes for CompleteColorado.com.
