A recently released surveillance video should restore some peace of mind to Americans propagating the idea that tighter gun control is the only way to end gun violence.
The recorded event occurred on a Seattle bus November 25. The armed aggressor was later identified as 19-year-old Trevonnte Brown. He is now being held in a county jail in Washington state.
Watch carefully, the passenger's reaction is quick:
When the bus rider looked up from his phone to find a gun barrel pointed at his face he did not even hesitate. Fear was certainly not his response, if anything he made the armed man look ridiculous.This has not been the only recent case of a citizen taking charge in a threatening situation.
In October a deli worker in Long Island responded to an armed robbery attempt by pulling a machete from under the counter. There was also the instance of the pastor, who drew his concealed carry weapon on a man faking an armed heist at a Dollar General store.
These attacks could have ended much differently had people not reacted to the events with speed and courage. No law enforcement official could have reached and reacted to this Seattle bus incident fast enough to stop the gunman. James Madison wrote in The Federalist Paper #46:
"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
In this bus situation, as it is with many similar situations, it was the citizen who had to take responsibility for his own life and for the lives of those around him. I don't know about the government, but I trust Americans to bear arms responsibly and authoritatively.