Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

Before we get to any unpleasantries, I want to say that my heart goes out to those who were killed or injured by the disturbed young man who took it upon himself to shoot indiscriminately at the students and staff members of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. For Coach Aaron Feis who gave his life to save others and people like Colton Haab who acted courageously while under fire, I salute you. I am sorry that many of you will have to endure the trauma of this event for many years to come. Nobody should have to go through the nightmare of feeling helpless like many of you did on that very day. Contrary to what the media or the left-wing institutions organizing your protests say (I know you guys aren’t doing this alone), there is no easy fix. Yet, there are precautions that we can take, which I will discuss more towards the end of the article.

It’s unfortunate that I should have to write this letter, but many of you have taken it upon yourselves to demand that the government create more gun laws on top of the 25,000 that we already have on the books to ensure the safety of America’s schools. Some of you are actively trying to shame officials in trying to pass what you guys call “gun control” legislation. One of you has even gone as far to say that we are either with you or against you on this issue. I am sorry that it has to come to this, but we can’t allow this misguided rhetoric go unchallenged.

I know that the media as well as some of your teachers have probably told you that the reason why there is such resistance to new gun control measures is because of this evil organization known as the NRA, which apparently has unlimited funds to bribe most of congress into doing their biding. It’s hard for me not to laugh at such a silly notion. It’s not the NRA congressmen fear as much as it is the voting base that they represent. Believe it or not gun control is not a popular issue among American voters. Your anti-gun friends would tell you that it is because we are cold and heartless or that we love guns more than people. The truth is that there is a large number of us who are not willing to give up our rights for something that we believe to be irrational.

I know that by now, some of you are scratching your heads, while trying to comprehend how anybody can possibly think keeping guns out of the hands of criminals or psychopaths is irrational. When I was in high school, there was very little that I knew about the world, but the one thing I did understand was the psychology of criminals. Think about it. Have you ever heard of a criminal who said “I better not mess with drugs because they are illegal?” For that matter have you heard of a criminal who said “I better not steal, kill, rape, assault or commit fraud because those things are illegal.” So, what makes you think that they will have qualms about breaking another gun law? Your former classmate didn’t seem too concerned about taking a rifle into a zone where guns were barred or the consequences that he would have to face for the lives he took.

Personally, I don’t really like the word “gun control.” I prefer using words such as Victim Disarmament because in the end the only people who will be affected by more restrictions are the law-biding. In some cases, these restrictions will become so severe that they will turn the law-biding into victims that will be at the mercy of the people who could care less about what the law says.

Just take a look at what happened to your classmates as well as the faculty members who perished alongside them. Since the 1990’s all schools in America have been designated as gun free zones, which means that unless you are a police officer, you are barred from carrying a gun on campus. That means neither your parents or your teachers are allowed to carry firearms on these hollowed grounds, even if they are licensed to do so by the state. So how well has that worked out? Splendidly, if you are a mass shooter that doesn’t have to worry about anybody shooting back. Sadly, it isn’t just your school that has experienced this problem. Almost every single mass shooting in the United States has occurred in a gun-free zone.

I know that your anti-gun friends scoff at the idea of having armed teachers or even armed security guards in gun-free zones. Some of you may even have reservations about having armed teachers, but there is something you need to consider. Think about Coach Feis, the man who died heroically saving the lives of your classmates. Are you telling me that you couldn’t trust someone like Coach Feis with a firearm?

You also need to take a good look at your anti-gun friends and their allies in the media. These are the people who don’t hesitate for a minute to exploit the deaths of mass shooting victims to advance a political agenda. The bodies of your classmates were still warm, when the anti-gun side decided to step in and demand a series of gun control laws that wouldn’t have made a bit of difference. They don’t care about you or your safety. They know that the laws that they are proposing wouldn’t have saved a single life, while they turn their noses up at any real solution offered by the pro-gun side. These people aren’t your friends. They are only using you to advance the same failed agenda that they have been pushing for years.

To the kid who told us that we are either with you guys or against you, I understand that you are angry. Who wouldn’t be after such a traumatic event? Your anger is aimed at the wrong people. If you want to be angry, aim it at the authorities who knew about the intentions of your former classmate and chose to do nothing about it. Be angry at the officers at your school who refused to go in and stop the shooter. Be even angrier at the officials who create zones that render people defenseless. For that matter, most of your anger should be directed at that young man who didn’t have any regard for the lives that he took. Don’t be angry at the people who don’t want to give up their rights, just so you can have the illusion of safety.

Now, I have been relatively easy on you guys due to the trauma that you guys have had to endure and the very fact that you are still very young means that you have much to learn. Believe me when I tell you that I am much harder on adults who believe in the same line of nonsense. Still, I want to point out that you can only go so far on other people’s sympathies. Just because you guys had a traumatic experience, it doesn’t mean that you are more knowledgeable at what needs to be done to prevent what happened to you in the future than anyone else. I know that there are people out there who would disregard what you have to say simply because you are young. It is possible for a kid to be right and an adult to be wrong, however in this case it is extremely unlikely. I have been studying the issue since I was a teen and I can tell you that there is more evidence for the existence of bigfoot than there is of any life being saved by a single gun law. So, the next time that you try to shame me, just remember that I have over twenty years of knowledge on this issue. Also, if you want to be taken serious as adults, you need to stop acting like children when you deal with people who have opposing viewpoints. The way you guys acted at the so-called Townhall Meeting on CNN, where you shouted down your opponents, calling them murderers and child killers was appalling. I know that your friends from CNN told you to act that way, but I have to tell you that it sure wasn’t winning the hearts and minds of America’s gun owners. If anything, it probably made them even less sympathetic to your cause. Like I said, you can only go so far on people’s sympathies.

Before I conclude this letter, I want to leave you with this picture:

This is a typical school in Israel. It doesn’t look much different than any other school that we have in the United States except for one little detail. It probably won’t take you long to spot it. Just think about it.