In Webster New York, four volunteer firefighters were ambushed while responding to a structure fire on Monday, two were killed.
William Spengler, 69, who had spent some 17 years in prison for beating his grandmother to death with a hammer, set his house afire. When the fire department responded, he attacked with a bushmaster, the civilian version of the M-16, an assault rifle. He finally shot himself.
Police Chief Gerald Pickering said the first police officer on scene "in all likelihood saved many lives" by chasing and returning Mr. Spengler's fire.
This brings up several very important points in the debate over gun control.
First, how effect are gun laws at preventing violence? As a convicted felon, Mr. Spengler was banned from owning firearms. Most of the laws that congress is discussing would not outright ban firearm ownership. If laws could prevent gun violence, surely an outright ban would have been effective.
Second, to those who lampoon the NRA's call for armed guards in schools, I would like to ask, was Chief Pickering wrong when he said the officer engaging in a firefight with the crazy felon saved lives? When evil men take up arms, history has shown repeatedly that only good men with arms can resist.
A quick web search turned up several instances where guns saved lives. Like a homeowner fending off a home invasion, or another instance where a drunk kicked in a man's door?
Cops carry guns, not because they are evil and wish to do harm, but to be able to resist evil.
Lastly, a man who killed his grandmother should never have seen the light of day. The way the mentally ill and criminal are dealt with only exacerbates the problem of violence. If we wish to prevent gun violence, we need to make sure our jails are not revolving doors, and we need to ensure we have deal with the mentally ill.
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