Well I can tell you they didn't care about the folks actually in the mountains. It was so bad that private individuals were using their own helicopters to help them in Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina...which is a crying shame considering the zone that was hardest hit was in a sweet spot between Ft Bragg and Ft Campbell...which have got the biggest access to helicopter airlift we have. But that's neither here nor there.
If a rando starts a rampage shooting I hope I'll have the presence of mind to sling some lead his way. The least I can do is buy some time for some folks in the path. Even the least resistance early enough can often lead to these chickshits offing themselves...rarely do they want to entertain the thought of being wounded or captured.
Largely because of the bad faith of folks who want to disarm EVERYONE. Largely because I believe in free will. Largely because I don't believe in guilt by assumption.
Should we have better services for folks who have mental illness? Sure. Absolutely. But it still wouldn't solve the problem because this particular type of mental illness broods in the dark, and plans, and schemes, and looks for methods, until one day it decides to act. There is often zero precursor behavior that is legally actionable. As such some folks believe that no one should have access. But the issue is the folks that do these deeds don't care about laws, nor do they care about their methods...just so long as they can carry out their dark brooding fantasies should they reach the point of enacting them.
Beyond the mentally ill there are tons of other very valid reasons to own, carry, and use weapons. Those who would harm others in this world while not plentiful...are still far more prevalent than I am comfortable laying down and letting them trod upon us. As such I choose to participate in my own self-defense and the defense of others...and I am not amenable to those who depend on others telling me that I should also be dependent so that they might feel better about being unprepared themselves.
Because a gun is a tool. If it wasn't guns it would be something else. The problem is MOSTLY with people who disassociate from others and see them as obstacles or objects to be done with as they please. They don't see others as people worthy of respect. Folks who cannot see others as worthy of respect are quite simply dangerous to society and those around them. Sadly our culture...in particular our political culture...has been pushing a division where we see others as less than...or obstacles.
Since it is a tool though I believe it is my responsibility to use it wisely and responsibly. It is my responsibility to have and use the tools which give me the best method for solving problems caused by those who look at others as objects. I hope never to find myself in a situation where I have to take out my weapon. But if that event should occur I hope I acquit myself as well as many of the private citizens who have taken on active shooters and stopped rampages by opposing them quickly and effectively. To do it quickly and effectively...you need to practice with your tools and you need to have them available.
