April Sheehan is mistaken on her statistics. It is not the number of firearms owned (that are locked up in a gun cabinet with a locked trigger guard on them) which will stop terrorism. Rather it is the number of citizens that are trained and carrying a firearm that can stop terrorism. In Canada, we do not permit the public to have a 'concealed carry' permit - but we should.
Firearms deter criminals and that is why police carry them. Police are trained citizens. Any responsible adult law-abiding citizen could be given the same firearms training and should be given it.
When terrorists recently killed over 100 people in France, had citizens been armed they would have quickly neutralized the threat, many lives would have been saved and terrorists would not have escaped to repeat the crime elsewhere. In Europe firearm and ammunition sales have greatly increased because citizens get it.
Citizens are 100 per cent of the time the only ones on the scene when terrorists or criminals attack them. The police and military are only called and show up after the crisis has happened.
There is always a cost to "resisting evil," Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends". (John 15:13). We have a Christian responsibility to protect ourselves, our family and our neighbour.
Greg Hopkins, who was a policeman, a prosecutor and a judge in his splendid book, entitled, 'The Myth of Christian Pacifism,' says that modern studies show that criminals are deferred by victims who may be armed or are willing to fight back".
Massad Ayoob, one of the greatest police and civilian firearm trainers of all times in his book entitled, 'The Truth About Self-Protection' states that "many studies have shown that 93 per cent of the time when a cop or civilian pulls a gun on a criminal, he doesn't have to shoot."
They await to be arrested rather then choosing to be shot.
A report released last Wednesday by the USA Crime Research Center, discovered that between 2007 - 2013 murder rates fell 22 per cent whilst concealed carry permits increased by 130 per cent in the same period.
In Washington State this month, applications for concealed carry permits are up 7,385 over previous months. Citizens get it.
We can stop terrorism. The common sense truth is, armed citizens save lives.
John Alexander, Vernon