by Bill Levinson

The press has so far overlooked a very serious and major lesson from the mass homicide at Virginia Tech; unless our society takes decisive preventive action, it is likely to be repeated, and on a much larger scale. We are not talking about imitation by a psycho like Cho Sueng Hui aka Ismail Ax, but by Al Qaida or a similar organization. Our terrorist enemies have doubtlessly seen the news about the Virginia Tech massacre. Having seen how much damage a single crazed maniac could do with two handguns, they are doubtlessly wondering what a team of three or four “martyrs” could do with fully automatic weapons–preferably in a “gun free” zone, of course, where they are unlikely to be shot by passers-by.

Needless to say, left wing legislators like Jim Moran (D-VA) have come to the usual knee-jerk conclusion:

I am of the opinion that the proliferation of guns in our society contributes to these tragedies. It appears that the ammunition clips used by the shooter were banned under the Assault Weapons Ban. Unfortunately, that law was allowed to expire in 2004.

An account of the shooting, however, says that the killer lined many of his victims up against a wall and shot each of them three or four times. It is difficult to see how he murdered more than thirty people in this manner without reloading, even with high-capacity magazines. He even had time to mail a package at some point during his shooting spree! Since the Left has been so diligent in teaching Americans not to fight back (otherwise, how could nineteen punks with box cutters have taken over four airplanes on 9/11?), it is conceivable that the stunned victims stood there and allowed him to reload. Reducing the legal size of his magazines from 15 to 10 (the limit under the so-called Assault Weapons bill) would not have saved anyone’s life if the people were unwilling or unable to fight back.

For reference, by the way, Jim Moran was associated with the Million Mom March, which was raising 501(c)(3) tax exempt money with which to support various Congressional campaigns along with Al Gore’s Presidential bid until its back was broken by the scandal in May 2000. Afterward, it filed what may be charitably described as a very creative Form 990 tax return with the Internal Revenue Service.
http://www.stentorian.com/2ndamend/mmm/sched_a1.gif

We like the word “was,” by the way, which seemed prescient under the circumstances.

Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA)
http://www.house.gov/moran/20000905.htm

“The Million Mom March was a grassroots movement that finally demonstrated, in a tangible way, organized support for firearms safety legislation,” he said. “That has not been seen before in the fight for gun control, and it is a force that will be felt this fall in every congressional district in the United States.”

The anti-Second Amendment side’s total lack of character, ethics, and integrity is well known. Its leaders include:

(1) Rosie O’Donnell, 9/11 conspiracy theory advocate who says “you are not allowed to own a gun” while employing an armed bodyguard.
(2) Ted Kennedy, who allegedly killed a woman (Mary Jo Kopechne) while driving drunk, and whose bodyguard did not get into trouble for carrying a machine gun into a Senate office building.
(3) Cynthia McKinney, who assaulted a police officer after trying to bypass a security checkpoint.
(4) Governor Jon Corzine, whose reckless high-speed driving and abuse of emergency flashers in a non-emergency situation jeopardized other motorists on the Garden State Parkway before a 91-mph crash put Corzine in the hospital. (A State Trooper was actually driving but, as he was obviously following Corzine’s instructions to speed, use emergency flashers in a non-emergency situation, and effectively run other drivers off the road, he is ultimately responsible.)
(5) Carl Rowan, who shot a trespasser with a “warning shot” from an illegally-owned handgun in Washington DC. It is illegal in most jurisdictions to fire a deadly weapon at someone who is committing, at most, a nonviolent misdemeanor. Rowan, who said that anyone who possessed a handgun should go to jail, apparently used his influence to avoid any consequences for not only owning a gun illegally, but assaulting another person with it.
(6) The Million Mom March raised funds and solicited volunteer time fraudulently (by lying to prospective donors about the magnitude of firearm misuse among children), exposed its members to identity theft by soliciting their Social Security Numbers, birth dates, and driver’s license numbers over the Internet through an insecure connection, and used 501(c)(3) tax-exempt money to support Al Gore’s political campaign.
(7) Convicted violent gun felons Amy Fisher (the “Long Island Lolita” who shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco) and Eric Kaplan (D-FL, rated F by the NRA) convicted of attempted murder of the wife of his NRA-”A” rated opponent).
(8) Convicted white-collar felons Mario Biaggi (D-NY) and Dan Rosetnkowski (D-IL) (pardoned by his friend Bill Clinton)
(9) Self-proclaimed war criminal John Kerry, who describes how he violated the Hague and Geneva Conventions in Vietnam
(10) America-hater, Israel-hater, and convicted inside trader George Soros

Now getting back to the circumstances of the murder: how did Cho Sueng Hui murder more than thirty people with handguns? A sidearm is a weapon with which to stop a fight that someone else starts. It is not particularly suitable for taking on a lot of opponents, even unarmed ones–because it doesn’t put enough distance between the shooter and his intended victims to prevent one from getting him with whatever heavy objects are nearby. We do not know what kind of objects might have been available, but chairs, heavy textbooks, and even laptop computers come to mind. Even if these did not bring the shooter down, it is pretty hard to aim a weapon when one is being pelted by such objects.

It is clearly necessary to educate Americans to fight back effectively against mass murderers. Israel might be a good teacher, because it has had to guard against school shootings like Ma’alot for a long time. Such shootings are not perpetrated by crazed maniacs like Cho Sueng Hui or the two individuals responsible for Columbine, but by trained and dedicated terrorists with fully-automatic weapons (illegal under U.S. law, but criminals and terrorists don’t obey laws). Israeli teachers are armed, often with Uzi submachine guns. There is also doubtlessly security to keep unauthorized people away from schools, but Cho Sueng Hui was in the United States legally and he was at Virginia Tech legally. If we can’t even keep out illegal Mexicans, we cannot expect to keep out dedicated and well-funded terrorists.

We will not jerk our knee to the other extreme, “Everybody should carry a gun” (although this excellent graphic novel introduces exactly that concept; the author even gives fellow Libertarian Robert A. Heinlein, a former naval officer, an offstage role as an admiral in the alternate Earth). We advocate the reasonable middle position that anyone who has a permit to carry a concealed firearm should be allowed to do so, and that so-called “gun free” zones should be eliminated. “Gun free zone” tells every terrorist in the world exactly where to go to kill as many people as possible before armed police officers respond to his actions. If you were a terrorist who wanted to slaughter 100 infidels before getting your one-on-one meeting with Allah and your 72 virgins, where would you do it: gun-free Washington DC, or rural West Virginia where there is a hogleg and/or deer rifle in every other house (if not every house)?

Even in states with “Shall Issue” concealed-carry gun permit laws, it is unrealistic to expect that more than a handful of people will be carrying guns in an area at any given time. It is therefore necessary to teach people how to use cover and motion to avoid getting shot, and how to use everyday objects to hurt or kill the shooter(s) if one can get close enough. Can chairs, books, and other heavy objects be thrown at him? Can the legs of a chair be driven into him? We are not experts in this field, but there are doubtlessly martial arts instructors and police instructors who are.

As an example, it is difficult to hit a moving target with any firearm, unless one has had a lot of practice. If people run laterally to the gunman (not at or away from him, because then he won’t have to lead), they will be a lot harder to hit. If they cannot escape (as the Virginia Tech students were unable to escape), they must of course kill the gunman. While he is trying to hit moving targets as opposed to people who are lined up against a wall waiting to be slaughtered, one of his intended victims can get behind him and do something constructive like slamming a heavy object into the base of his skull or kicking him in the middle of his back.

Then one must keep hitting him until he is obviously incapable of further resistance. We are amazed at the stupid movies in which the hero or heroine knocks the bad guy or monster down and then runs away, thus giving him time to recover and get up again. One must either hurt him so badly that he will not cause any further trouble, or else take his weapon away and cover him with it while waiting for the police to come for him.

Again, training is necessary and qualified instructors must be found. Self-defense with improvised weapons, and the use of movement and cover to avoid gunfire, should be made part of high school physical education classes. Students should be taught to fight. This does not mean boys should have to box with each other (especially given the possible liability if someone is hurt, which is quite possible even under refereed and controlled conditions), but punching bags won’t file any lawsuits when they get hit. It is necessary to learn how to hit someone hard enough to hurt him. Women, who have less upper body strength, should learn martial arts that utilize the legs’ far greater strength. A 120-pound black belt can easily break two inch-thick pine boards with a kick, and the effect on a terrorist’s or psychopathic killer’s body is easy to imagine.

It is easy to envision the teaching of gunfire evasion with Airsoft guns, or other simulated guns that discharge harmless projectiles. It could even be made into a game in which one group pretends to be terrorists who want to massacre the occupants of a closed room. The “gunmen” are armed with simulated guns as described, and foam bricks and bats (representing objects that might be picked up and used as weapons) are in the room. Everyone wears protective goggles for eye safety. Anyone who gets hit (whether by a “bullet” or a simulated weapon) is out, and perhaps suffers a penalty like extra homework or extra physical exercise. The winners–whether the “gunmen” by “killing” everybody, or the “victims” by using the improvised weapons to tag the aggressors out, are similarly rewarded.

While it might be most useful to do this in an actual classroom, the chance of injury from running into desks and so on makes this undesirable. A special “classroom” could be constructed with soft foam desks and chairs as harmless obstacles, but this would be expensive. On the other hand, it can probably be done safely in any gym, especially one with mats in case anyone falls. This means that high schools could implement something of this nature as early as this Fall.

Full Virginia Tech/Cho Seung-Hui Coverage:

• Thinking too much about Ismail Ax
• Virginia Tech: Mendacity!
• Virginia Tech and Adolescence
• Ideas for Virginia Tech killer Cho Seung-Hui
• The true measure of a man
• When PR supersedes safety
• Hollywood hasn’t raised concerns?

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Related: Society, Virginia Tech Shooting

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