In the aftermath of the Aurora massacre, the debate about gun control is fierce. Proponents of gun control argue that guns are designed to kill and the less guns  there are, the less people will get killed. Opponents counter that outlawing guns will leave law-abiding citizens helpless against criminals who will still have guns. So it’s better that we all have guns so we can protect ourselves.

I saw people posting opinions that said if they had been allowed to carry a concealed weapon in the Aurora theater, they could have shot and killed the attacker and saved many lives.

I am a martial artist. During my training, decades ago, I learned some basic techniques of disarming an attacker with a knife or gun. My skills are rusty at best, and I don’t think I’d be equipped to disarm an attacker that pointed a gun at me.

However, I am very aware of the fact that a gun does NOT protect me. During my days in the military I learned that it is not trivial to hit a barn-door with a handgun, let alone a human-sized attacker at some distance. The Aurora maniac hurt and killed a lot of people because he was able to just shoot into a thick crowd of human bodies. It would have been much harder for one or many people in the crowd to hit him, under the circumstances, from a significant distance, under bad lighting. I have my doubts that a concealed weapon with moviegoers would have made much of a difference.

Finally, if you think that having a gun in your hand and pointing that gun point-blank at a bad guy should keep you safe, think again.

Check Out This Video and then tell me how safe you would feel.