Gun Control Reform Activism

http://www.ifyouonlynews.com/politics/dallas-mayor-calls-bs-on-open-carry-it-didnt-help-during-shooting-and-made-things-much-worse/

Dallas Mayor Calls Bullsh*t On Open Carry: It Didn’t Help During Shooting, And Made Things Worse

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings (D) stood next to Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) and dropped an extremely uncomfortable reality check: Open Carry, the movement pushed with near-fanatical obsession by Texas Republicans, not only did nothing to help stop the mass shooting of police officers in Dallas, but it actually made the situation far worse. Open Carry had an opportunity to justify its existence – and it failed on every conceivable level.

For Rawlings, examining the aftermath of the shooting made it clear that having dozens of scared civilians clinging to assault-style weapons during a mass shooting was a recipe for disaster. The “good guys with guns” didn’t suddenly become action heroes bravely stopping a heavily-armed lunatic. They acted like any of us would: When the shooting started, they scattered in every direction in terror of their lives. Only unlike others, these fleeing victims were strapped with weapons that sowed confusion. Any of them could have been a shooter attempting to blend in. At a moment when cops were being targeted by a sniper, officers had to track down these “innocent” gunmen just to make sure they weren’t one of the bad guys.

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In other words, the exact reason gun rights activists often give to justify “guns everywhere” bills is false. They don’t keep people safe, they put people’s lives at risk by causing chaos.

A major in the Dallas police department was equally furious about the danger Open Carriers put the rest of the population in. Maj. Max Geron pointed out that the police scanner was filled with chatter of confused officers desperately trying to figure out who was a bad guy and who was an Open Carry supporter while calls of “officer down” continued to ring out.