Colorado’s governor admits new anti-gun laws did nothing to prevent Arapahoe

Remember how Colorado passed a raft of gun control bills in the weeks after the Sandy Hook massacre, all in the name of making the residents of Colorado “safer” from the acts of a madman.

(The Politico) – …”I am happy the governor is signing common-sense legislation that reduces gun violence in our communities by keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, domestic violence offenders and the seriously mentally ill,” said Democratic Rep. Rhonda Fields, who represents the district where an assailant opened fire July 20 during a midnight showing of “Dark Knight Rises.”

Yeah, the very bills that have almost cost Colorado Democrats control of that state’s senate after three senators lost their seats due to recall efforts.

The Truth About Guns has a great story today about how Colorado’s gun-hating governor John Hickenlooper admitting those gun laws Colorado passed didn’t make one iota of difference at all in the latest school violence incident in Colorado.

According to a CNN story, Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said of the shooter, “His intent was evil, and his evil intent was to harm multiple individuals.”

On his arm, the perpetrator had written in indelible ink five classroom numbers and a phrase in Latin that translates to “the die has been cast,” according to the sheriff’s office.

But as reported in the Washington Times, the attacker’s mission was stopped short by the quick response of Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Deputy James Englert  who was working as a resource officer at the school.  Upon learning of the threat, the deputy ran from the cafeteria to the library, yelling for people to get down and identifying himself as a deputy sheriff.  The horrific incident lasted only a total of 80 seconds and ended with the shooter turning his gun on himself in the library as the deputy was closing in on him.

“We know for a fact that the shooter knew that the deputy was in the immediate area and, while the deputy was containing the shooter, the shooter took his own life,” Sheriff Robinson said.  Robinson said the deputy’s response was “a critical element to the shooter’s decision” to kill himself.

During a December 15 appearance on Face the Nation, Gov. Hickenlooper, was forced to admit that the very gun control bills he signed into law–and which resulted in the historic recalls of two state senators and the resignation of a third to avoid the same fate–did not make “a difference at all” in the school shooting.

“So things like universal background checks, I think they are going to make us safer, but in this specific case aren’t going to make a difference at all.  And that’s the challenge,” Hickenlooper said.

What does make a difference is an armed response; but it only works in a situation where properly secured firearms are available onsite to be used by responsible, proficient, courageous people–in other words, the good guys.