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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Matter of Opinion

Myth of Hero Gunslinger

Interesting column by Timothy Egan (formerly of Spokane) about the notion of increasing safety by carrying a gun.  It is related to the Tucson shootings.

It defies logic, as this case shows once again, that an average citizen with a gun is going to disarm a crazed killer. For one thing, these kinds of shootings happen far too suddenly for even the quickest marksman to get a draw. For another, your typical gun hobbyist lacks training in how to react in a violent scrum. I don’t think these are reasons to disarm the citizenry. That’s never going to happen, nor should it. But the Tucson shootings should discredit the canard that we need more guns at school, in the workplace, even in Congress.



Gary Crooks
Gary Crooks joined The Spokesman-Review in 1997. He is editor of the Opinion section and a member of the Editorial Board.

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