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Health & Fitness

Those That Want to Carry Guns Are The Last That Should Be Allowed

On the evening of January 13, 2014, Chad Oulson (43) and his wife Nicole were on a date night at the movie theater at Wesley Chapel, Florida. Their 3 year old daughter was home with a babysitter. Before the movie began, during the previews, Chad Olson texted the babysitter to check on his young daughter and that is what caught the attention of Curtis Reeves (71) sitting behind the couple.  Reeves became annoyed at the text and first complained to the man, then to the movie manager, and when Reeves returned to his seat an argument erupted. Even though by this time Chad Oulson had turned off his phone the argument became loud, popcorn was thrown, and suddenly Mr. Reeves pulled out his concealed handgun and shot Chad Oulson in the chest. Chad Oulson died of his wound and his wife Nicole was wounded in the hand trying to protect her husband.

Among the many disturbing aspects of this unnecessary gun tragedy is the fact that the gunman, Curtis Reeves, was a retired Tampa police captain that founded the city’s SWAT team. This sad incident points out the deeper problem with the argument that allowing gun carry permits makes America safer. When a gun owner makes the claim that the person on the muzzle side of the gun was acting improperly and that the gun owner was acting responsibly the claim is often not true. The evidence points to the fact that Mr. Reeves panicked and killed Chad Oulson in cold blood.

The National Rifle Association never tires of trying to persuade people they need to strap a gun to their legs before they enter a mall, movie theater or school, despite the fact that the crime index in America has tumbled by one-third since the early 1990’s. We are safer from crime today than any time since crime record keeping began. But the likes of the NRA and Fox News consistently tries to convince us that down is up.

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Fear is what drives the gun proponents in this country. Instilling fear has always been one of the best sales tools. Like an old snake oil salesmen the gun merchants profit from instilling enough fear in people so that they support gun measures that were unthinkable a few years ago. In blind faith gun fanatics pressure states like Georgia, Arizona, Tennessee, and Virginia to make it legal to carry a gun into a bar. Well, what can go wrong? Guns and booze never hurt anyone!

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