On November 7th, 2018, 27-year-old Telemachus “Tel” Orfanos was shot and killed at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California.

Around 11:18 pm, 28-year-old ex-Marine Ian David Long opened fire on the approximately 260 employees and patrons gathered inside. After murdering 12 of those people, he then turned the gun on himself. Stranger still, is that he paused during the massacre to post his status on his Instagram. Although Long apparently suffered from PTSD, it is questionable if that was a factor in this tragedy. What we do know is that only a disturbed person not only kills innocent people but posts such actions on his social media account. What we also know is that the gun he used did not kill those people- or him; he killed those people. While many shootings have happened sporadically over the last 50 years, in the last 30 years that number has spiked-dramatically.

That is because our culture has changed. The world is different, because people are different-not the other way around. On December 15th, 1791, the 2nd amendment of the Bill of Rights was ratified, which gave all citizens the right to “keep and bear arms.” Within the last 25 years, many on the political Left have fought to eliminate or negate this ratification, due in part, to horrific tragedies(as of this writing) like Sandy Hook elementary, where 26 people (including 20 children) were murdered, Columbine High School, which saw the slaughter of 15 students, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, which resulted in the loss of 17 innocent lives, as well as the Oxford High shootings, resulting in 4 murders and several injuries.

Though clearly not enough to satisfy those that oppose guns altogether, the most extensive and intensive background checks have been put in place as well as greater gun restrictions, all in efforts to deter or decrease gun fatalities. However, studies show that such restrictions have made little difference. While cities like Chicago maintain some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation, there were more than 3,200 shootings in 2020 alone, leaving nearly 800 dead: those numbers up more than 50% from the prior year. The expression, “guns don’t kill people-people kill people,” is not merely a catch phrase; it is a matter of fact.

In 1999, many were quite surprised with the now infamous “debate/attack,” during the run of ‘The Rosie O’Donnell Show.’ While interviewing actor Tom Selleck (a member of the NRA) for his current film, O’Donnell (then known as the ‘queen of nice’), showed her true colors when it came to gun control. Selleck’s response to her barrage of questions is as valid now as it was then, stating:

“The troubling direction in our culture and where I see consensus, which is what I think we ought to concentrate on in our culture, is[that]nobody argues anymore (whether they’re conservatives or liberal), whether our society is going in the wrong direction. They may argue trying to quantify how far it’s gone wrong or why it’s gone that far wrong; whether it’s guns or television or the internet or whatever- but there’s consensus saying that something’s happened. Guns were much more accessible 40 years ago. A kid could walk into a pawn shop or hardware store and buy a high-capacity magazine weapon that could kill a lot of people- and they didn’t do it. The question we ought to be asking is… Look, suicide is a tragedy; it’s a horrible thing- but 30 or 40 years ago, particularly men- (and even young men) when they were suicidal, they went and unfortunately blew their brains out. In today’s world, someone who is suicidal sits home, nurses their grievance, develops a rage and is just as suicidal, but they take 20 people with them.”

Selleck’s grasp of the reality concerning guns is one that escapes far too many. As difficult as it was to hear Orfanos’ mother say she wants (in her own words), “Gun control- not prayers”, many of us already know that gun control is not the answer. Those on the political Left would have us to believe that all they want is gun control, but we know the truth; gun control is not the end; it is the beginning. Every Democrat Presidential candidate in the 2020 election ran on this very platform and promise. Michigan Radio host simply known as ‘Renk’ once put it this way:

“I believe that the outcry we are hearing today for gun control has nothing to do with protecting Americans and legal citizens from violence. I believe it must do simply with hatred. Hatred of people who do not believe in the same government policies as others. I believe if we look further you will find that the side that wants gun control really just cannot stand that the other “team” will not go along with their governmental policies of “controlling” the people.” In other words, the plan that you hear is not the real plan. It is a smokescreen- the ‘ol bait n’ switch, or “the rope a dope.”

The truth is you cannot make guns behave. They are inanimate objects with no moral compass, no sense of right or wrong; they are just machines; no different than an automobile. Yet, while gun murders claim 39,000 lives each year, and deaths by car accident are only slightly behind at 38,000, there is still (as of this writing) no call for car control. So, rather than deal with the issue honestly, the Left would rather eliminate the guns. Regardless of what you hear, our 2nd amendment is designed so, that we would be able to protect ourselves and our families. Yet, what better way to control people than to take away their ability to protect themselves. Be not deceived- gun control is people control. If you don’t understand that… you are part of the problem. -Lawrence Johnson, Sr.