Active shooters and what to do
There will be a lot of words and emotions after the last 14 days, especially last weekend.
I’d like to talk about facts.
Gun laws will not stop the killings. Here is why.
There already are laws against killing someone, it’s called murder. And a mass killing is premeditated murder. So, passing a law restricting guns won’t help. It’s tantamount to a U.N. resolution.
“OK, this time we really mean it and you’ve broken two laws.”
People bent on mass murder will find a way. Whether it is buying a gun, (think black market), making a bomb, (Boston Marathon) or mowing down pedestrians with a motor vehicle (Paris, etc.).
Society would be better off spending efforts, time and money on improving the processes to identify, rapidly mitigate and prevent mass murder attempts, while assuring due process and privacy.
Also, there is a direct correlation between the time it takes the police to arrive (and they are quick), plus the number of potential targets, to the total amount of casualties.
So, a better educated public on “active attackers,” and what to do if you find yourself in an active attacker environment, (run, hide, fight, avoid, deny, defend), would reduce the number of casualties.
And finally, the news media needs to exercise restraint, and stop glorifying the event by having wall-to-wall coverage and live on-the-scene reporting. We’ve learned, don’t name them (thank you Jacinda Ardern), now we need to not mention the numbers of those killed or wounded. Doing so only serves as a goal for the next attacker.