Nobody understands the horror of a madman bent on destruction like law enforcement officers.
But that doesn’t mean the best in blue are willing to get sucked into pushing for gun control.
And you’ll love the brilliant response one Police Chief gave when a radio interviewer tried to blame a recent mall shooting on the gun.
When shots rang out at the Town Square Mall in Boise, Idaho, police officers were on the scene in two minutes flat.
Sadly, the deranged man killed two people and wounded four others before police took him out.
A couple of weeks after the incident Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee was doing an interview on Boise State Public Radio when the host brought up guns.
“Mass shootings. Sad to say, they are not new. That doesn’t make them any less personal or tragic,” the program host said. “But in a community – in a state where firearms are everywhere, how can we keep this type of tragedy from happening?”
Lee responded with a lecture every gun-control advocate needs to hear.
“I think the challenge that we are not talking enough about is what is our mental health infrastructure? What is our ability to connect and contact individuals?” Lee asked.
Then, with incredible tact, he pointed out the one thing every “mass” killer has in common.
“I think you and I, as well-educated people, can sit back and look at this and realize that nobody in their right mental state of mind would engage in an act like this,” Lee argued.
Lee called out the elephant in the room in an era where guns are considered a “public health” issue: poor mental health is a problem long before a violent attack takes place.
He then tore apart the very terminology leftists like to employ so they can use lunatics as examples to push their political agenda.
“The root of the matter is that when we talk about these . . . the verbiage commonly used [is] ‘mass shooting.’ But the reality is that these are ‘mass killing’ events.”
Lee pointed out that vehicles and “a variety of different attack methods” have been used throughout the United States and internationally.
No doubt, he was remembering the SUV that recently plowed into a Christmas parade in Wisconsin and attacks that led to a knife ban in New Zealand.
With that set up, he summed up with an important question for radio listeners to consider: “What can we do to help ourselves and to help our fellow person before they’re in this moment of crisis, where this seems to be the act that they’re going to carry out?”
The truth is that rogue firearms are not behind “mass shootings.”
There are frustrated, unhealthy people pulling the trigger.
Personal responsibility and building healthy relationships as much as possible is likely to do a lot more good than onerous government overreach that doesn’t even address the actual problem.
As an officer, Lee has, no doubt, seen the worst society has to dish out.
Yet, thankfully, he also remembers what he’s sworn to protect.
Pants on Fire News will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.