In light of the two recent shootings questions arise where to place the blame so this doesn’t happen again. The fingers mostly point to more gun control. Adding more laws will not solve this problem.

There are thousands of laws pertaining to firearms including everything from purchasing to ammo sizes and types, who can and cannot carry and transporting of firearms. State laws vary and are independent of existing federal firearm laws.

The problem isn’t needing more laws, but better enforcement of those laws and a properly trained armed civilian population. In Wisconsin you need to have a class in order to qualify for a concealed-carry permit. But there isn’t a required live fire class.

It’s important that you have to be able to use your firearm, as well as getting a feel for it. It would not make sense if you bought a 45 magnum and don’t know how to fire it. It’s the same as going to the DMV and getting a driver license. You must have a required amount of book time along with actual driving experience.

If we decide to ban all types of firearms and remove them off the face of the earth. Should another massacre happen this time with rocks, ballpoint pens, or notebook paper. Then should we start adding more restrictions and start banning rocks, pens and paper? The problem isn’t the weapons but the person holding the weapon.

We can compare the debate to what was done to the drug problem. It created a multi-billion dollar underground market over which there is absolutely no control.

With more laws it creates more restrictions to the law abiding citizen. The criminal already have the weapons and know where to get weapons when needed. To disarm the population their right to defend themselves sets a one-sided stage and gives an unfair advantage to the criminal elements.

There are many examples of the armed citizen standing up in the face of evil that have firearms. In one such example, a guy released from prison walks into a marketplace in Utah. He purchased a kitchen knife and started attacking people in a parking lot. A 47-year old man with a concealed-carry permit was able to give that man a moment of pause before being arrested. (Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT 4/28/12).

If someone was a concealed carry holder in a Colorado theatre and was there at the time of the massacre, I am sure there would be a lot less needless casualties.

So why condemn Soccer Mom Suzy with out the right to defend herself, if held against her will. A bullet usually travels at 1000 feet per second or more, whereas a call to police is a few seconds, and the response is usually 5-30 minutes depending on location. While Suzy is waiting for police her grey matter is already on the concrete. This could be prevented if Suzy was armed and trained to defend herself.