Last Friday evil descended upon Florida.  For reasons that remain unclear an individual that had displayed multiple instances of psychosis executed five people and injured many more in the baggage claim area of Ft. Lauderdale’s airport.

He had left Alaska and traveled to Ft. Lauderdale.. the reason for that destination remains unknown.  What is known is that he took a 9mm pistol with him.  He retrieved his luggage from baggage claim, went into the bathroom, loaded his pistol and then returned to the carousel to begin murdering people.

When he was out of ammunition he calmly laid down.

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During our CCW classes we often see the “Sheepdog” student.  This is an individual that feels a morale mandate to get a CCW.  They want to protect themselves… but they are also interested in protecting society from these miscreants that seem to pop up like our Florida killer.

There is a saying though… “if you are prepared to kill to protect someone… you also must be prepared to die.”

Think of a professional athlete.  At any moment during any game they might suffer a career ending injury.  Yet they cannot play the game with that mindset.  They must disregard and move forward.  If they focus so much on the reality that they might loose their career they will not do what is necessary to actually win the game.

Dealing with a violent predator is no different.

I see people become annoyed and infuriated when we discuss the places you cannot go (legally) with a firearms permit.  There response is understandable… why should I be prohibited from carrying a gun there to protect myself?  The bad guy is not going to follow the rules!  The only people that will be unarmed are the victims!.

They are absolutely correct…. when it comes to firearms.

However… none of us is ever “unarmed”.

We may lack the most efficient weapon system necessary to solve the problem.. but we all possess the single most lethal weapon that has ever been deployed:  Our minds.

Imagine for a second a the unimaginable.

An active shooter enters a public space and draws his weapon at close range to a group of people.  As he raises his gun he suddenly feels his ribs break as he his slammed into the ground from behind.  An “Unarmed” samaritan has seen this guy enter the place and took action.  Yes… he risked his life, but that is beside the point.  His life was at risk by simply being there in the first place.

In France three brave heroes (American I might add) were confronted by a terrorist with a rifle and a knife.  They brought war upon him.  Yes, they suffered injuries… but their sheer explosion of violence was enough to overwhelm him and protect the other passengers.

We do know that there are certain fundamentals that exist.  An active killer is going to murder at a rate of about one person every fourteen seconds.  State First Responders typically take somewhere between three to seven minutes to arrive.

Banning guns is not the answer.

Arthur, from Packin fur Defense and I were talking the other day and he said something quite interesting.  “The entire western world was conquered by a group of guys with nine inch long sharpened spikes.”  What makes anyone think that evil can be conquered by regulating machined parts?

Evil can only be held at bay through one thing and one thing only:  Extreme violence of action.

The passengers on Flight 93 understood this.  Their actions saved thousands.

Would the knowledge that any physical attack on the innocent would be met with the innocent attacking back instantly, ferociously, with extreme prejudice serve as a deterrent to the attack in the first place?

In many instances yes.

In all instances… no.

There are still going to be those that seek martyrdom.  Still those who fundamentally are not capable of rational thought.  To those that seek their own demise… we must be willing to accommodate them.  When they bring their arms to bear on us… we must bear down on them.

We must transcend our basic premise of weapons.  The presence of a firearm is immaterial.  From shoes, to shoulders, knees to briefcases we must use the weapons that are available, and use them to their maximum value.  We must train… constantly… to be ready.  We must train… constantly… to be proficient with all of the tools that are available to us.

We must never, ever accept the extreme selfishness of self preservation.  We persevere, by playing on offense.  We seek peace… we avoid conflict… we love our neighbors…but when we are attacked the gates of Valhalla are opened and a thousand warriors stand beside us to rain destruction down on those that would seek to do harm.