7 things we didn't learn about Minneapolis

For every problem, there is a quick, cheap, and simple solution — that doesn’t work. A mentally ill person attacked a church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We’ve been there before. Why are we attracted to solutions that fail time after time?

Let's look at seven flawed approaches that continue to be promoted when it comes to mass murder:

1. We love our children, so let’s put up a plastic sign that tells honest people to keep their guns outside our schools. It turns out that murderers are attracted by plastic signs that advertise disarmed victims. We would rather put up another sign than admit that criminals ignore our regulations.
2. We love to concentrate on our spiritual life at church. It is a rare moment to escape from the pressing cares of the world. Let’s pass a regulation so that honest citizens won’t bring their guns to church. It turns out that our honest neighbors were never a violent problem. Narcissistic mass murderers look for disarmed victims. These murderers almost always attack “gun-free” zones. Why do we want to make it easier for violent murderers to find their victims?
3. We hate the idea that our laws don’t work. That is why we require mandatory background checks before someone may buy or own a firearm. Background checks don’t work on criminals because criminals don’t buy their guns at gun shops any more than they buy their drugs at the drugstore. Background checks look backward, and mass murder is a one-and-done carrier choice.
4. In hindsight, mass murderers look crazy. Unfortunately, we seldom see mental health professionals diagnose and report a violent patient. We have seen several mass murderers who were receiving mental health counseling. Experience taught us that mental health treatment isn’t always a cure. We shouldn’t count on talk therapy to protect the people we love.
5. Maybe you once wanted to hurt your neighbors. I’ll bet that feeling left as quickly as it came. Since sober reflection works to stop most of us, we passed mandatory waiting periods in the hope that gun-control regulations would stop violent murderers. It turns out that violent murderers are not like us. They are persistent. They spend years pleasantly planning their violent revenge. Waiting periods don’t stop mass murderers, but they do disarm honest people who have an urgent need for armed defense. I don’t want our laws to disarm people who flee domestic abuse.
6. Politicians sold us ammunition capacity restrictions in the hope that less capable murderers would lead to fewer victims. That doesn’t really work in practice. Our honest neighbors defend themselves with a firearm about 2.8 million times a year. The victims are usually the first responders who stop violence. Making the victim less capable doesn’t make us safer when a crazy man attacks a church. We’ve seen what honest defenders can do time after time.
7. We are wiser as we grow older. That was why we passed age restrictions on firearms purchases and ownership. It also turns out that young people are frequent victims of crime. Disarming the coed as she walks home from her job at the convenience store doesn’t make us safer. It does make her an easier victim, and that is what criminals look for.

What does work

The mass murderers told us what they wanted. Also, we conducted the experiment with armed defenders a few million times.

We’ve never had a mass murderer attack a school that publicly posted a policy of armed school staff.

If we want to stop the attack before it happens, then we take down the no-guns signs that attract mass murderers. In public spaces where our neighbors are allowed to defend themselves, we see them save the next dozen victims who would die if we waited for the police to defend us. Unfortunately, defending your school, your church, or your home is harder than passing a law and putting up a plastic sign.

We know how to save lives. Our doctor tells us to eat moderately and exercise regularly. Armed defense isn’t hard, and it works. Like following our doctor’s advice, the difficult news is that we have to do it every day.

Rob Morse writes about gun rights at his SlowFacts blog and hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast.