Last week, Colorado was the scene of yet another mass shooting, following one earlier in the week in Atlanta. Colorado is no stranger to such events…Columbine, the Aurora theater shooting, and now Boulder. One thing all of these shootings have in common is all occurred in the Denver-Boulder metropolitan areas. These areas are extremely liberal and tend toward the toughest, most restrictive gun laws. Victimhood is a feature, not a bug.
The latest concealed carry permit statistics I could find, for 2017, showed just over 8,000 licensed concealed carry permit holders in Boulder County. El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs, has around 45,000 licensed concealed carriers. The socialists are always telling us that people with guns constitute a serious menace to public safety, so why aren’t mass shootings happening in El Paso County?
It goes without saying that El Paso County could have a horrendous mass shooting tomorrow. There are no geographical boundaries to violence. Nevertheless, with the constant narrative from the left about the dangers of gun-toting rednecks, why aren’t the streets of Colorado Springs littered with bodies?
Part of the reason, if anyone bothers to look, is that licensed concealed carriers are some of the most law-abiding people around. Most take their responsibilities seriously, practicing, getting refresher training, and handling their firearms safely. The number of licensed concealed carriers arrested for gun crimes is lower than the crime rate for police officers nationwide. In short, the licensed carriers are of relatively low concern for law enforcement.
Think about this. What are the odds the Boulder shooter could have walked into a grocery store in El Paso County in his underwear with an AR-style pistol and succeeded in killing ten people without encountering resistance from an armed concealed carrier? How many shots would he have fired before some concealed carrier stopped him? The odds are certainly higher than in Boulder County.
Which brings me to my initial point. In today’s society, everyone is now taught from an early age that they’re victims. Victims of the white male patriarchy, victims of systemic racism, oppressed by a rigged system, victimized by greedy corporations, and robbed of success by Wall Street, the rich, the privileged. People who think of themselves only in terms of victimhood just naturally become victims. Most people in Boulder would never consider taking steps to defend themselves beyond running.
Government, we are told, is responsible for our safety and well-being. Government will take care of us. For most people, fighting off an attacker or taking responsibility for their own self-defense is a foreign concept. That’s not their responsibility, but that of the police, at least those they haven’t voted to defund. For the left, victimhood is the foundational quicksand on which their existence is based.
In El Paso County, in contrast, most of the people are more conservative, though that is changing as more refugees from lefty states like California move in. People believe in taking responsibility for themselves. The number of armed concealed carriers, greater than Denver and Boulder counties combined, is reflective of that attitude. The high number of concealed carriers in El Paso county does not guarantee that one will be available during any specific incident, but there’s at least a higher probability that someone would step in and bring an end to the affair.
Soaring gun sales in America are a recognition by many people that government is impotent against the type of violence seen in the last two weeks and the only protection they have is that which they provide for themselves. Joe Biden’s gun control proposals, even if passed in Congress, will fail in reality. People are not going to surrender their only means of protection to a corrupt and inept government. Mass disobedience will follow.
There are two types of people…victims and the rest of us. If cowering behind a stack of Lays Potato Chips is your idea of self-defense, go for it.