Engaging multiple targets at a Vehicle Close Quarters Battle course

Attending a 1MOA Solutions Precision Rifle course

In addition to reviews of guns and accessories, I’ve written numerous articles about citizen response to active shooters, tips for new concealed carriers, the importance of the 2nd Amendment, realities of gunfights, the stupidity of magazine capacity limitations, the need for armed teachers, and the public’s legitimate use for military-style weapons (conversely, I’ve also beaten up on the stupid fools who thought they were “helping” by walking into Chipotle with ARs and SKSs). I’ve defended the 2^nd Amendment my entire adult life, and was even defending it in my childhood.

I don’t defend the 2A because it makes me money. I don’t sell guns or get paid to teach shooting skills. I defend the 2A because I’m a student of human behavior and history. I know that the incredible peace, freedom, security and prosperity we enjoy is an anomaly; conflict and tyranny have been the norm for most humans for most of our existence. An armed populace, rather than hope or wishful thinking, is a good deterrent against external aggression and an excellent defense against internal oppression.

The 2A guarantees our right to keep and bear arms, for incredibly important reasons. It does not, however, require us to be blind and stupid. It doesn’t mean we should ignore obvious warnings from aspiring mass killers, like last week’s high school shooter.

Photo credit goodhousekeeping.com

In many previous mass shootings, there were no clear prior warnings. Some vague danger signs may have been recognized afterward, but often, as with the Las Vegas shooter, nobody had any idea whatsoever of the shooter’s plans, and the shooter had no criminal or mental health history. But the Florida massacre was carried out by a teenager who announced his intention to be a school shooter. And he was still able to legally buy a gun.

Of course, we all know the two tips to the FBI about the shooter’s statements weren’t properly followed up. But what if they had been followed up? Depending on the jurisdiction, simply saying “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” isn’t necessarily an arrestable offense, isn’t necessarily a felony, and isn’t necessarily enough to justify an involuntary mental health commitment. So it’s plausible that even if the FBI had investigated, and confirmed he had made the statements, and that he talked about murdering people, and that he introduced himself as a future school shooter, and that he had a history of erratic behavior, he still would have been able to legally buy an AR-15 to murder people with. I say allowing a known aspiring mass murderer to legally buy guns is blind and stupid. And I think most of my fellow 2A supporters would agree.

Or let me put it this way: if a radical Muslim extremist posted online that he believes in violent jihad against the Great Satan and praises the Paris terrorist attacks, would it make sense to let him legally buy an AK? How many gun dealers, if they knew about his plans, would sell him one? Few to none, I’d think.

So is there a way to legally prevent gun sales to those types of people, without infringing on the 2A rights of the innocent? Yes. Does supporting the 2A require us to support gun sales to people who are telling us they want to commit murder? No.

I’m not talking about banning the AR-15, advocating confiscations, repealing the 2A, or any nonsense like that. I’m not suggesting anything that would affect the tens of millions of legal, peaceful gun owners who we live and interact with every day. What I’m suggesting is that when someone tells us they’re buying a gun to commit a crime, especially a crime like mass murder, even if they haven’t broken the law or been committed, we listen to them. I’m proposing that we put laws in place to make those threats part of the background check system, and stop those wannabe murderers from legally buying a damn gun.

No, I’m not saying creation of such laws will be easy, or simple. I recognize the danger of a slippery slope that leads to further gun restrictions. I know legions of gun control advocates stand ready to exploit any opening toward their ultimate goal of “domestic disarmament.” I also know that not every mass shooter legally buys a gun, and this proposal won’t stop all mass shootings.

The Las Vegas mass shooting

But I also see seventeen dead kids and teachers. I see a shooter who told us what he was going to do. I see that current laws allowed him to buy an AR-15 to commit the mass murder he was planning. And I can’t imagine anyone arguing that nothing should be changed, that if the shooter’s clone showed up at a gun store tomorrow he should still be able to buy a gun. So I’m talking about laws that would stop some mass shootings, or maybe only a few, or maybe only one. You can’t convince me the lives saved in that one mass shooting aren’t worth it.

We can talk specifics later. Right now I just want intelligent, reasonable people to discuss solutions, pitfalls and roadblocks. Hopefully I’ll get my fellow gun owners and 2A advocates to agree with the principle, that it’s possible to enact laws to prevent aspiring (yet not convicted or committed) murderers from getting guns, without stopping the rest of us from getting guns.

I welcome any and all intelligent, informed opinions, whatever they are.

Chris Hernandez is a 23 year police officer, former Marine and retired National Guard soldier with over 25 years of military service. He is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan and also served 18 months as a United Nations police officer in Kosovo. He writes for BreachBangClear.com and has published three military fiction novels, Proof of Our Resolve, Line in the Valley and Safe From the War through Tactical16 Publishing. He can be reached at [email protected] or on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ProofofOurResolve).