It’s been nearly a week since the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, TN. The national conversation and Twitter discourse has been more about the predictably divisive politics and related social issues around transgender and gun rights than about the six victims of this abhorrent act.
What is Important
- Six people – three students and three school employees were unnecessarily slaughtered by a violent maniac.
- The murderer deserves no good will or sympathy. None.
- The school had an emergency plan and applied it – which saved lives. Preparation is important.
- The police officers risked their lives by entering the school quickly, tactically, courageously, and killed the monster. The response from Nashville police should be studied and copied by all police leaders/trainers. This was the literal ideal response from police to a horrific situation. (body cam)
First Thoughts
The response from Nashville police department officers was so efficient and effective that the body cam footage will be used as an example in law enforcement trainings for years.
The officers entered the school quickly and methodically searched the school without hesitation. During the search they heard gunfire coming from the second floor – they immediately ran up the stairs and towards the gunfire. Not knowing if they were heading straight into an ambush.
There is no amount of training or mental preparation that can fully get someone ready to act with courage and competence in a situation like this, but sometimes police officers are brave enough to just say “fuck it” and shake hands with the devil.
As police officers closed in on the offender (who was in the process of shooting at arriving police vehicles) they engaged and ended this nightmare quickly.
There is no necessity to negotiate with terrorists who are in the midst of a killing spree.
“Assault Weapons” Ban
There is no such thing as an “assault weapon” or “assault rifle”. It is a made up term that has zero meaning in reality. The “AR” in AR15 stands for ArmaLite Rifle. But, the parlance of our times is that “assault weapon” means an AR15 or similar-looking rifle.
Stats
According to Pew Research, in 2020, there were 580 people who were killed in an incident involving an “assault weapon”. That represented 3% of all U.S. gun murders.
Given the above data – “AR” type weapons are used in approximately 580 murders per year. To put that into perspective, 3400 Americans drown each year. Approximately six times as many people lose their lives in water accidents each year then are killed by these “scary-looking” rifles.
How Many?
In 2021 Forbes estimated that there were over 20 million “assault weapons” in the U.S. and the NRA agreed with that figure. But, in reality, one one knows the exact number of these weapons that exist in our country – except that there are tens of millions in American hands.
Banned
A ban on “assault weapons” would likely stop the manufacturing and sales of new weapons. But, would not have any effect on the ones already in circulation.
The reasonable cynic would suggest that if 20 million ARs are in the country, then if a criminal wants to get one, they probably can. A ban on new weapons would/could not stop that.
Would it have worked – for this case?
President Biden called for an “assault weapons” ban right after this shooting. Therefore, some nexus must exist between The Covenant School shooting and a ban. So, let’s explore this logic.
The offender was in the school for fourteen minutes before the police killed her. Instead of having two rifles – let’s say she was equipped with a backpack full of handguns or one handgun with a few extra magazines. Could she have still killed six people in fourteen minutes? Yes, of course. I think everyone acknowledges that.
So, then, a reasonable person must ask the question – what is the purpose of an “assault weapons” ban?
Check out our prior article where we dive deep into the “gun debate”.
Day of Vengeance
The Trans Radical Activist Network (TRAN) had planned the event prior to The Covenant School shooting.
Any event advertised as a “day of vengeance” is a bad idea. Everyone needs support, but call it something else. Also, no individual or group should be threatened due to the criminal actions of a single person.
I am honestly not sure who the trans community thinks is out to get them? The Club Q shooter (who killed 5 and injured 19 people) is “non-binary” (according to the attorney) and The Pulse nightclub shooter (who killed 49 and injured 53) was a radical Muslim. Christians may have an ideological opposition to some LGBTQ issues – but there is no evidence that they are attacking or killing members of the trans community.
In 2020 even Trump-appointed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion that extended protections to cover sexual orientation and gender identity – under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which makes it illegal to discriminate).
Hate Crime
In this case a transgender shooter targeted a Christian school. It is that simple and we should be honest about the facts. This was a hate crime and it should be investigated as such. It appears that the religion/belief system of the victims was a motivating factor in the crime.
The mainstream media and Left-wing activists have been telling trans people that they are constantly “under attack”. A few days before this school shooting Cenk Uygur (of The Young Turks) encouraged trans people to purchase firearms and exclaimed that they were in serious physical danger from “right wing lunatics”. Yeah, that video clip aged worse than a 2007 episode of “The Pickup Artist” during #metoo. (clip here).
This isn’t Uvalde
I have covered the school shooting in Uvalde more than just about any other topic the last year. This might be an unpopular opinion, but, the cops in Uvalde were not cowards. They were overwhelmed, undertrained, and the leadership was dysfunctional and borderline criminal.
The cops in Uvalde entered the school quickly. There is a real difference between a shooter that is out in the open and reloading and a shooter that is barricaded and possibly holding child hostages. If we do not recognize that difference – it’s dishonest or ignorant.
If the shooter in Uvalde was confronted by police in an open area – they likely would have killed it immediately.
If the shooter in Nashville was barricaded in a classroom with child hostages – it is unknown how quickly the police would have been able to resolve the situation. However, a reasonable guess is quicker than 77 minutes.
*To clarify. The entire response to Uvalde was problematic and incompetent. It is a textbook lesson to police of what not to do. The failure was not a lack of “courage” but a lack of leadership, preparation, equipment, communication, and tactical competence. The police response in Uvalde was wholly unacceptable.
