In the immediate aftermath of the mass shooting in Maine on Wednesday October 25, 2023, the usual suspects put the template out. Now whenever a crisis of the week (e.g., George Floyd, the Vegas Shooting, etc.) erupts, my normal belief is to calm down and let the process play itself out. However, politicians and sycophants went to work, determined to not let “a good crisis go to waste.” They screeched on social media, television and newspaper they could from their normal playbook. Their points:
THIS DOESEN’T HAPPEN IN OTHER COUNTRIES!
Actually, it does. Of the fifty-one largest mass shooting in the history, eighteen were committed in the US. The five deadliest were in Africa, Asia, or Europe. Of the top ten, two (2017 Las Vegas, 2016 Orlando FL nightclub) were in the US. In fairness, per capita, we’re above average. However, we’re also a nation with relatively unrestricted gun laws. The largest shooting, Kenya 2015, was in a country that basically banned firearms.
The point of this? Like countless felons in the US, people who cannot legally possess a firearm, will obtain a gun if they want to.
HE WAS MENTALLY ILL!
Actually we don’t know that. I’ve heard multiple people announce he filled out a form declaring he was mentally ill. To be specific, question 23g of the ATF Form 4473, “Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution?” This may be confusing because the standard from the instructions is “…has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to a mental institution.” OK, does that mean someone who is diagnosed is a mental defective? The form does not say what is the standard for being “a mental defective.” We don’t know if he was diagnosed as suffering from a mental illness like bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, etc.
A classic example of how this can be an issue is a soldier I knew in the 1990s. I processed this person for a security clearance and one of the questions was, “Have you ever been treated by a mental health facility, or sought mental health treatment?” This soldier had gone to a counselor for a few months after a tough divorce. Should that prevent this soldier from ever possessing a firearm, either in the service, or not? No!
HE GOT HIS WEAPON FROM THE NATIONAL GUARD!
This has to be my favorite. This was a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) in the immediate hours after the shooting. Tells me a lot about the writer. First, he’s never served in the service. As any vet knows, all weapons are accounted for daily (or with Reserve/National Guard units, when the arms room is open), weekly and monthly. And any vet knows the closest thing to the Earth stopping on its axis is if a weapon comes up missing. All training, operations (other than active combat) etc. stop until that weapon is accounted for.
Also, the National Guard (or active-duty units, nor Army Reserve) DO NOT use AR-15s. The Army currently uses the M-16, M-4, and M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. So no, he did not get a rifle from an armory.
HE RECEIVED WEAPONS TRAINING IN THE SERVICE!
I’ll put it politely, no kidding. He was in Army Reserve or National Guard (been reported as both, they are two different animals, but most people commenting have no idea what is the difference), and part of basic training is weapons instruction and qualification. Also, at minimum, all soldiers (Active, Guard, Reserve) must qualify annually with their assigned weapon. Before they go to the range, they normally have refresher training on their weapon. So yes, if he was in the service, he will have weapon’s training regularly. To borrow the phrase from the Bard, “Much Ado About Nothing.”
HE RECEIVED LAND NAVIGATION TRAINING IN THE SERVICE!
Again, no kidding. Soldiers, to one degree or another, must be able to use a map and a compass. That is a basic skill for Solders and Marines. Just like sailors being able to navigate a ship or Air Force pilots flying a plane. Something done regularly.
In looking at the comments on social media, I’ve noticed many people saying they would go door to door to remove weapons from the residents of the home. I double that would work out well. You’re unarmed, knocking on a door, demanding the people inside surrender their firearms, and expecting they will comply. What if they say, “No I don’t have any guns, go along…” I don’t think you can get a judge to give you a warrant for the firearms.
The point? Again, let’s let the process work its way out and find out what fully happened. It took a while to determine how the Vegas shooter got all his guns, how the system failed in the Southerland Springs church shooting, and how the shooter in the Sandy Hook shooting murdered his mother and stole her secured firearms.
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
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