A Few Further Words on Firearms

I wrote the previous post on firearms two weeks ago. In the meantime, I learned details of the event that inspired the post. On December 6, a man who had a long criminal record hijacked a car at gunpoint in downtown Seattle. He led the police on a high-speed chase through several neighborhoods and carjacked a few more vehicles until he got into a shootout and was killed right in front of my church. This occurred about 40 minutes after I left that day.
The following week my minister filled in some blanks about the shooting. Although services were over, there were two meetings and a memorial service in the church at the time. When the shooting began, two staff members locked doors and warned people to shelter in place. One door would not lock, so these two people stood by the door to make sure no armed person entered the building. In essence, they were willing to lose their lives to protect the others.
This episode brings up the issue of freedom vs. responsibility in gun ownership. How did the carjacker get the gun? He should not have been able to purchase a weapon given his criminal record. Did someone buy them for him, or did he steal the weapons? If he did buy them on his own, who sold the guns to him? Do the Second Amendment absolutists believe that this convicted felon had a right to purchase and carry weapons? Finally, why should staff members of churches, temples, or mosques need to have active shooter training – and worse, have to use it? It’s a shameful commentary on our society.