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Concealed Firearm Saved Lives in Utah Mall PDF Print E-mail
Written by Mike Kinsey   
Friday, 16 February 2007

There has been a lot of media coverage regarding the tragic events that occurred in Utah at the Trolley Square mall when a Bosnian Muslim opened fire on patrons, killing five and wounding others. Thankfully, an off-duty police officer was able to use his concealed handgun to stop the shooter from taking more innocent lives.

From this article on WorldNetDaily.com:
The trench-coated teenager wanted to "to kill a large number of people" and probably would have killed many more if not for the off-duty officer, Police Chief Chris Burbank said.

Ken Hammond, an off-duty officer from Ogden, north of Salt Lake City, jumped up from his seat at a restaurant after hearing gunfire and cornered the gunman, exchanging fire with him until other officers arrived, Burbank said...

"There is no question that his quick actions saved the lives of numerous other people," the police chief said.
The tumultuous wake of such a ghastly act leaves all of us struggling for answers. The Salt Lake Tribune has published an article entitled Trolley Square: Gun-rights debate gets drawn into aftermath. It discusses the positive impact of armed law-abiding citizens that have a chance of defending themselves and saving innocent lives. Hopefully, the management of Trolley Square mall will learn this lesson. At the time of the brutal killings, the mall was posted with signs prohibiting legally licensed individuals from carrying their handguns.
"How many people left their firearms home Monday night because they were afraid of violating a rule," [Larry Correia] said, referring to the signs at Trolley Square prohibiting firearms.

Stuart White, a gun owner from Spanish Fork, agreed. "[Monday] night, a concealed weapons permit holder came to the defense of defenseless residents, but what are the chances an off-duty officer will be around?" he asked…

It appears as though off-duty Ogden police Officer Kenneth Hammond, who carried a concealed weapon, stopped the killing spree, said Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council. Aposhian noted that it is impossible to know whether a concealed-weapon holder could make a difference in every violent confrontation.

"But we do know what happens when there is no one with a concealed weapon in these situations: people die."
Unfortunately, if this heinous act were to be committed in Ohio, the murderer would have an even greater chance of killing additional innocents. The hero of Trolley Square was engaged in a Valentine’s Day dinner with his fiancé when the shooting occurred. Due to the nature of the occasion, I am going to make an assumption that that restaurant is one that would likely serve alcohol. Thanks to Ohio law, a legally armed person could not be in that establishment, even if they were not consuming alcoholic beverages.

While the actions of this armed citizen is being praised all over the country, one legislator hopes to make it even more difficult for people to defend themselves. Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) is citing this tragedy as motivation for the anti-gun agenda. She has introduced H.R. 297: "The NICS Improvement Act of 2007". Unfortunately, that is a terribly misleading name. The NICS background checks ensure that dealers are not selling firearms to any person that has been convicted of a crime that would prevent them from buying or owning a gun. H.R. 297 will extend the NICS database by including people that have merely been arrested for similar crimes, but never convicted. In other words, people that have been found innocent of false charges would fail the NICS background check. This bill should be renamed to something more appropriate. I propose “The NICS Guilty Even After Proven Innocent Act of 2007”. You can read more about this proposed legislation here.

It is also being reported that Congresswoman McCarthy would like to reinstate a federal Assault Weapon Ban (AWB). However, this ban will be different from the 1994 version in that it would be permanent. It would not include a “sunset provision” that allowed our legislators to reflect upon the ineffectiveness of the Clinton AWB and refrain from furthering a ban that dealt only with firearm cosmetics and not function.

Both of these misguided and counter-productive responses would have done absolutely nothing to prevent this terrible crime. They don't even come close to offering a solution. The gunman reportedly used a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38 caliber revolver. Neither of these firearms would be affected by an arbitrarily defined Assault Weapon Ban.

Congresswoman McCarthy and every other anti-gun zealot that wants to use this tragedy to further a political agenda needs to remember that those that have decided to break laws banning murder will not follow laws that ban guns. Legally armed citizens and our innate right to self-defense are the only recourse against criminally armed murderers and the evil that allows them to prey on the helpless.