Over the last few days, Americans have witnessed two attacks that ended very differently.
A stabbing at a Michigan Walmart on Saturday was stopped by an armed man, a Marine veteran, who went to the shooting range but “forgot to take his pistol off his hip.” The New York Times, Associated Press, Washington Post, NPR, NBC News, BBC, and many others completely ignored the gun used to stop the attack. But an eyewitness described how others who had tried to stop the attacker were stabbed, but it took the Marine with a gun to stop the attack. The attack was stopped several minutes before the first responders were able to arrive. One thought is that this hero might get some coverage in the legacy media simply because he is black and the attacker is white.
This case was far from unusual. Between January 2021 and December 2024, concealed handgun permit holders stopped 37 attacks that police said would have turned into mass public shootings if not for their intervention. But they rarely get national news attention.
Unfortunately, after Monday’s attack in New York City, Democrats drew the wrong conclusion. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) responded by calling for a federal assault weapon ban and blaming the tragedy on the absence of such a law.
Their gun control laws ensure that there won’t be any armed civilians there to save the day. The murderer who killed four people broke numerous gun control laws – he openly carried a rifle that was already illegal to possess or carry in the state. New York State and New York City prohibit open carry of loaded long guns in public and ban so-called assault weapons, such as an AR‑15 style rifle. Even concealed carry permits do not authorize openly carrying a rifle in public.
Meanwhile, the law-abiding victims were defenseless, disarmed by the city’s strict regulations. There are currently only about 6,000 active concealed handgun permits in a city with almost 7 million adults, so less than 1% of adults. And carrying a permitted concealed handgun is extremely difficult as there is a very long list of places where you are banned from carrying (e.g., public transportation such as subways, any places that serve alcohol, Times Square, government buildings and educational facilities, and public gatherings). The total costs for getting the permit run about $770 (for fees to the New York Police Department and the required course).
Hellbound and Down 