Apparently I have a few aspiring action movie type heroes in my social media feed today, so called "good guys with guns." They imagine themselves saving the day during a mass shooting. "We should be thanking those with properly concealed weapons," one friend said. "We will thank them some day."
At some unfortunate time if they are present where a mass shooter enters and begins firing, in that shock inducing moment of terror will they back handspring in slow motion while bullets rain down around them? Will they then skid across the floor while they pull out their weapon and kill the shooter? I hope really dramatic music happens to be playing.
The answer, as Donald Trump recently suggested, is not to arm more people. We would all love to imagine ourselves as brave super heroes, but if you were strolling through the produce section and suddenly someone was spraying bullets, most of us would freeze in shock. It would be too late.
It's nothing more than a fantasy; a fantasy that justifies easy access to guns. It also offensively implies shooting victims are weak and in that moment they should have done something. In such a horrific moment, who knows how one might react or what one would do.
However, In this moment there are many things we can do, and one of them isn't to fantasize about being a gun wielding "good guy." We should just be good guys. Good guys who don't give in to the fear tactics of the NRA and instead take real action on gun reform.