But are they protecting their athletes, or protecting an image?

By Chris Sprow

Last year, Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor got out of bed upon hearing intruders entering his home. The house was situated in a wealthy, gated community on the outskirts of Miami. It was the middle of the night. To protect himself, his girlfriend, and their young child, Taylor grabbed a machete he kept nearby and crept to his bedroom door.

So Taylor, in fear, and concerned for the safety of his family, armed himself with a large knife used to hack away at jungle foliage. The intruder shot and killed him.

Many have asked why Taylor felt it necessary to have a machete nearby, but it's probably worth asking (as his friends and peers in professional sports certainly are), "What if it had been a gun?" Certainly, the outcome may have been different.

Unfortunately, officials in the NFL and the NBA increasingly take a paternalistic attitude toward their athletes. For years, the NFL and the NBA have attempted to distance players from firearms. Some would argue these policies are aimed at a culture that celebrates the criminal use of violent weapons, but the effect is pretty clear: The leagues would rather their players put themselves at risk than protect themselves with guns.

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Stop ignoring the solution that's not on the table. Put it on the table. In fact, put it on your belt.

By John Longenecker

Praise to the armed citizen who stopped the nameless shooter in Colorado's New Life Church. Jeanne Assam is the perfect illustration of what the armed citizen is all about. She is a concealed carry permit holder private citizen at the time she had to make the decision to act in facing grave danger and in defense of another. She is one of millions of Americans who carry their weapon without problems enunciated by anti-gun activists. More than 2 Million by last count.

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The Colorado New Life Church Center had announced that it would re-examine security, and there is one superb security all churches, campuses, workplaces, airports, hospitals, parks, public buildings and malls should learn: the armed citizen is the original Homeland Security, not only for the location, but for the Nation.

Armed Citizens are already on scene. In fact, they are ever-present.

Private citizens have the authority they need. Gun bans interfere with that authority.

They are trained, they are vetted in background check, and they have satisfied the state sufficiently to carry the identification that says they can carry their personal weapon concealed.

Oh, and one other thing, the shooter didn't see her until it was too late. He calculated that no such person would be there.

In a word, lift the gun bans.