Good Guy with a Gun

Politicians aren't the first people who come to mind when you think of wisdom, but Sen. Chris Murphy (D, CT) recently delivered himself of one of the dumbest remarks any politician has ever uttered. After viewing the video of the failure of the police in Uvalde to take action against the man killing children in Robb elementary school last May 24th Murphy opined that:

The Uvalde video puts to bed, forever, the question of whether the way to deal with bad guys with guns is to make sure there are more good guys with guns. We've always known it was a gun industry created lie, designed to sell more guns. Now we just have the gut wrenching proof.

This comment is so ridiculous it's probably an insult to the intelligence of VP readers to point out to the distinguished senator the difference between necessary and sufficient conditions. It's a necessary condition to stopping the slaughter at Uvalde that good guys be armed, but it's not a sufficient condition. The good guys have to actually be willing to use their weapons to end the carnage.

Consider, as an example, a story out of Indiana that the senator from Connecticut ought to be told about since it certainly points up the absurdity of his assertion:

At least three people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting at an Indianapolis-area shopping mall on Sunday evening, police said.

Multiple people called 911 at around 6:05 p.m. local time to report an active shooter at the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, some 14 miles south of Indianapolis. An unidentified gunman had walked into the mall's food court and opened fire, according to Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison.

Olivia Harding said she was at the Old Navy in the mall with her mom when they heard four gunshots and initially thought the nearby carousel was breaking down. But then they heard six more shots....

A person who was lawfully armed -- identified as a 22-year-old man from Bartholomew County -- shot and killed the gunman, according to Ison.

"The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop that shooter almost as soon as he began," Ison told reporters during a press conference on Sunday night.

Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers also confirmed that the suspect was "shot by an armed individual," whom he called a "good Samaritan."

"This person saved lives tonight," Myers said in a statement late Sunday. "On behalf of the City of Greenwood, I am grateful for his quick action and heroism in this situation."

Too bad that 22-year-old wasn't at Uvalde, but it's not too bad that Senator Murphy has to walk around Washington for the next couple of months with egg on his face. In the debate over gun control he seems to have pretty much lost whatever credibility he may once have had.