Two Handguns, a Rifle, and a God-fearing Security Guard

A single gunman is reponsible for two Colorado church shootings police said Sunday.

The following is a paraphrased abstract from Judith Kohler's AP story as seen on yahoo.com

The gunman was identified as 24 year-old Matthew Murray, who send his
guns blazing once, then drove to another house of worship 65 miles away and
started shooting again. The shootings happened within 12 hours of each other.

The first attack took place at Youth With a Mission, a training center for
missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada; the other occurred at the New Life
Church in Colorado Springs. Two teenaged sisters were killed in the second
attack.

Jeanne Assam, a church member who volunteers as a security guard, shot the assailant who was found with a rifle and two handguns police said.

Church leaders are hailing Jeanne Assam as a hero who prevented further loss of life and so do I. We should all tip our caps to the U.S. Constitution (and her framers) for the guaranteed freedom the second amendment provides law-abiding citizens.

Jeanne Assam is a hero and deserves to be treated as such.

I wonder how many lives could have been saved at Omaha's Westroads Mall last week if someone had taken advantage of Nebraska's newly passed concealed weapon law.

Legislative Bill 454 will allow Nebraskans 21 and older to obtain a five-year permit to carry a concealed weapon if they pass an approved handgun training
course, criminal background checks and mental health background checks. A permit
holder must be fingerprinted and pay a $100 fee. (April 2006)

As it is, eight Omaha families will sit down to their dinner tables this Christmas with an empty chair where a loved one once sat. You can count five more Colorado families to that list.

A gun is not the answer to every problem but a few well placed, perfectly timed rounds could have kept body counts from rising.

Jeanne Assam's gun sure did.

"I identified myself, I engaged him and then I took him down," she said at the press conference. "I didn't run away. I didnt' think for a minute to run away. I knew I was the one given the assignment to stop this thing." `~ article

Thank God for all who fight for the second amendment.

Thank God for the Constitution for making it possible.

Thank God for Jeanne and hundreds of thousands of Americans like her who are prepared to do what is necessary to keep me and my family safe.