Wow.
There have been quite a lot of people who don't believe that a CCW permit holder would have been able to stop an "active shooter." I would argue otherwise. Look at who your CCW holders are.
Veterans of war/combat (who've been shot at before and can deal with threats in a cool, calm and collective manner). Target shooters, who shoot on the regular, weekly in some cases, and train/participate in competitive shooting. People who've been victimized, and have trained not to become a victim again. Cops and security guards. And of course your average citizens who've taken a CCW class. If we are going to entertain the philosophy that CCW holders aren't qualified to carry a gun or deal with threats, then who is? Are we going to sit here and demonize CCW holders and citizens who could have stopped the killing, had they been armed with a firearm? Are we going to sit here and say that citizens who pass background checks and go through the process to obtain a permit are all potential criminals who plan to commit evil acts with their firearm?
Cops in Maryland are only required to go to the range once a year to qualify with their duty weapon. For DC its 2 times a year. If you rely on cops for your protection, who protects you from the cops? I was watching a news clip earlier on how Cathy Lanier was attempting to explain to the DC council why her department was exhibiting criminal behavior. Wasn't it this past year that Christopher Dorner lost his mind and went on a shooting rampage "because he lost his mind?" Theres countless other incidents involving police as the pool of applicants has slowly dwindled over the years to nothing, for such jobs involving high levels of public trust, trust of national secrets, and those eligible for military training. It only will force agencies to start taking people who have "red flags" in their background as they will seek to take the lesser of evils just to fill the ranks and demand. As the ones who shouldn't be hired slip through the cracks, you can almost guarantee incidents involving corruption and criminal behavior will be on the increase both in the military, national security fields and law enforcement career fields. How many of the cops that serve in the jurisdictions you frequent are crack shots with their pistols?
With this being said, its clear i'd rather rely on my own training and abilities to stop some killer madman than to rely on those who may not act when the time comes. What would the news say if they went to interview witnesses who all said "If I was allowed to carry my gun, I could have stopped this guy from doing this." What would the headlines read if a person who was carrying with a CCW permit was shopping nearby and stopped the threat as soon as they heard the first shot or saw him with a gun?
Lastly. While everyone is focused on what Maryland will do as far as banning guns, ammo, and magazines, there is another component that a lot of individuals are ignoring here. This guy built bombs, or made an attempt to according to the news. At the end of the day, if he had not had guns, it would have been bombs. If not bombs, then knives, or swords, fire, a car, who knows? The reality is, people who commit evil acts will continue to do so unless good people stop them. Will this incident be a turning point for Marylanders to realize that the politicians who make laws to prevent them from protecting themselves are ultimately making it easier for those who do things like this?
