Every time there are multiple shootings, like those that occurred over the weekend at the Youth With A Mission missionary training center in Arvada, Colo., and later at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, we are lectured about the easy access to firearms in the U.S. and the dangers it creates.
But many are thankful today that Jeanne Assam, a volunteer security guard at New Life, had easy access to a gun when Matthew Murray entered the east entrance of the church and began firing his rifle. Murray was carrying two handguns, an assault rifle and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
If Jeanne Assam had not had a gun at her side, dozens more might have died in Sunday's shooting at New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
Assam, who worked as a police officer in downtown Minneapolis in the 1990s and is licensed to carry a weapon, shot Murray. Had she not done so, more than two would have been killed at the church that day. Two others had been killed by Murray at Arvada. New Life's senior pastor Brady Boyd said Assam's actions saved the lives of 50 to 100 people.
Last February, another disturbed young man from war-torn Bosnia entered the Trolley Square Mall in Ogden, Utah, and began shooting, killing five people. Utah is a right-to-carry (RTC) state but lets property owners post signs proclaiming an exception on their premises.
A sign posted in the mall reminded people that concealed carry permit holders could not bring their weapons inside. Trolley Square was a gun-free zone, except for predators. Fortunately, inside the mall was an off-duty Ogden police officer, who was carrying a concealed weapon in violation of the law, and was the first to trade shots with the gunman. He is credited with preventing the murder of more innocent victims.
Unfortunately, he was at the opposite end of the mall and on another floor when the shooting started. If concealed carry permit holders were allowed to take their firearms into the mall, maybe those five could have been spared or even defended themselves.
