Thread by @VoiceOverDan

One of the biggest talking points of the NRA and it’s supporters are the “human interest” stories about “good guys with guns”, and fanciful imaginings about how every shooting situation would end with a positive outcome.

Trump said during his “listening session” that if “that coach” had a gun, the whole incident at Douglas would have been over...

Or.......

1. Coach shoots 10 rounds and hits no one, and gets shot and killed. Shooter gets another gun.

2. Coach shoots 10 rounds and hits three other kids and another teacher, killing all of them.

3. Coach hides in a room with students until law enforcement gets there, and when they see him with a gun, they shoot him

The NRA representative at the town hall last night brought up a story of a 19 year old college student who was raped in her dorm room, saying if she had a gun, she could have defended herself. Which is one completely reasonable outcome.

Also plausible...

The woman reaches into her closet to grab the gun as she’s being assaulted, and it falls on the floor. The man overpowers her, rapes her, and then uses her own gun to murder her.

Since we are just making shit up let’s say her roommate and her boyfriend walk in, and get shot too.

How about a story where an armed citizen, who considers himself the head of his neighborhood watch, arms@himself with a gun and goes out “on patrol”. He sees a teen walking through a yard and calls the cops. The cops tell him “STAY PUT - DO NOT ENGAGE”.

Emboldened by his gun, he stalks that teenager through several backyards. The teenager, feeling threatened at being stalked, gets the jump on the guy and starts kicking his ass for stalking him in the dark.

The vigilante, operating outside of the law, crying and wailing at getting his ass rightfully kicked, murders the teenager who lives in the neighborhood, whom HE was stalking, in cold blood.

This is literally George Zimmerman murdering Trayvon Martin. No story necessary.

These stories, proposing regular armed citizens acting bravely and heroicly and flawlessly are a tool constantly used by gun rights advocates, and they often go unquestioned.

But you’re much more likely to hear an actual story of a father shooting and killing his 8 year old, or a random citizen shooting wildly into a Home Depot parking lot at shoplifters, than something heroic.

Furthermore, police officers can’t help but jump out of a moving car to shoot a 12 year old on the park, or shoot into a licensed gun owner’s (who has already identified himself) car window with a four year old I the back, but random untrained citizens will act perfectly?

The entire idea of a fully armed society policing itself when trained police officers can’t manage to do that is so pitifully moronic, I can barely fathom it as a thing that someone actually suggested.

And yet President Brainworms is out here talking about it like he has literally ever set foot in a public school, or met and spoke to a teacher, or has literally thought about this for more than literally one second.