Our country has suffered from an increasing number of terrible shooting incidents where numerous people have been killed and wounded.  One thing stands out to me.  In none of these cases has there been a private citizen in the crowd with a gun who has been able to return fire in an attempt to take down the shooter. Why is it that in a country where the 2nd amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, no one is able to resist the shooter(s)?
 
My theory is that people who would be able to carry a weapon have been so intimidated by what they hear and read in the media that they fail to get the required training and permits to carry a weapon. The NRA is seen as an enemy even though they promote gun safety. The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® program and the National School Shield program provide training and financial support to help safeguard our children. Who else is doing this?
 
Perhaps the US government which funds an organization that kills millions of unborn children each year should consider funding some organizations that could help prevent the mass killings that are occurring at an increasing rate in our country. The NRA , the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) could all provide adequate training for private citizens. 
 
There should be no “gun free” zones in our society.  Instead, there should be millions of Americans trained to take down any terrorist or deranged person with a gun who starts shooting people at random.  We know that at times it takes fire to fight fire.  We are in a crisis where that is the case.  Band-Aid politics will never do the job!!

There is a verse in Proverbs 22:6 that says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Perhaps the increase in gun violence we see in our society can be tied to this verse. When a child is trained up by responsible parents it has a positive impact on the person when they are older. All the negative press about guns makes positive training a challenge. But there is hope.

Not long ago I read about a number of universities starting classes on how to safely shoot and handle firearms. These programs are being supported in part by the gun and ammunition industry. And the number of students enrolling and the number of universities participating is increasing. Even training in the late teen and early twenties will have positive benefits in preventing gun violence.

For younger children, the NRA’s Eddie Eagle GunSafe® program is a gun accident prevention program that seeks to help parents, law enforcement, community groups and educators navigate a topic paramount to our children’s safety. They are on a mission to help you teach Pre-K through 4th graders what to do if they ever come across a gun.
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Instead of trying to cover the problem with Band-Aids, let’s focus on raising children with strong values of what is right and wrong. It’s the only real solution to a very serious problem in our country. Band-Aid politics is not the solution!