“This guy was the most dangerous person I’ve ever dealt with in the court system,” [Brennan] McCarthy said. “Because this guy was smart. He was not stupid.” And “he knew how to walk the line” between frightening people and threats that could land him in jail.
“It was a like a silent threat hanging out there,” McCarthy said. “That is even worse because there’s no mechanism of law to stop this guy from doing something you just think he might do. The Capital was in the same boat. They knew how dangerous he was.”
Those words come from Brennan McCarthy, a lawyer who represented a woman who said that the suspect in Thursday’s mass shooting continuously threatened, stalked and harassed her. He pleaded guilty to criminal harassment and was given probation. Some time later, the newspaper that was targeted in the attack had run a column using the case as an example of how dangerous it can be to give out personal details online.
He tried suing, but lost the case.
Then he went in with a shotgun to try and get the final word.
There can be signs of future violence like this, and this case isn’t any different from many of the other mass shootings that we’ve seen. The signs and symptoms are there, but how do we stop these things from happening?
We don’t. Not every time.
To put it bluntly; it’s impossible for one simple fact.
Evil will always exist. You cannot write laws and abolish evil. You cannot have every person committed or jailed because you or someone feels that they pose a threat. These are not reasonable solutions to the problem.
Many ask how he was able to purchase the shotgun legally, and I believe that to be a moot point. Had he not been able to buy the shotgun, his determination would have led him to another route in order to secure a firearm. We need to stop this discussion.
This is a website focused on concealed carry and personal safety. Can you guess as to what our solution is? It should be no surprise, even to those against concealed carry, that we need to start moving in a different direction as far as the topics go.
More armed and trained citizens will save lives. This goes well beyond mass shootings, because we know that the odds of you being involved in one is very slim. However, the odds of you being on the receiving end of a violent crime are far greater. In fact, most people will experience this in their lifetime.
Bad guys are deterred by armed citizens. So what’s the problem? If we have more guns than citizens, shouldn’t that be enough?
While we have guns, the vast majority to not have them outside of their home. This is not a fix-all solution by any means, but it is a way to better prepare yourself for any threat that you may come into contact, whether it be a mass shooter or an armed robber at the gas station.
It’s a fighting chance and with the right training and brain power, your odds of survival just shot up dramatically.
