Photo courtesy wepartypatriots.com.
By Tom Menner
One of the best things that happened in November 2010 was Second Amendment Patriot leader Jim Tomes being elected to the Indiana State Senate. This would be the equivalent of electing Dr. Richard Klein, a former president of Guns Save Life, as an Illinois state Senator. It was a very good thing for gun owners. This was proven recently at a “Meet your legislators” meeting last winter.
Jim Tomes, along with six other representatives and senators, was asked if he would support alcohol sales on Sunday laws. While the others gave long-winded, no-answer responses, he said: “NO, I cannot. People can get their booze six days a week and that is enough. Sunday is the Lord’s day and people might ought to be in church somewhere.” Well a few booed loudly, but the rest of the room resounded with thunderous applause, for his position and mostly because he gave a no double-talk answer.
This happened in Evansville, on a Saturday. By Monday his sound bite about church on Sunday was on TV news reports about the Sunday sales law in Indianapolis and Ft Wayne.
Later in the same meeting, he was ambushed by a question about the campus carry bill he wrote and is pushing. The question was worded in such a way I saw no way he could answer and not look bad. Boy was I wrong. Jim was clearly ready for this type of question. Here’s a paraphrase of what he said:
Let me tell you why we need this. Because first responders are the only ones who can ever get there in time to help. I am going to tell you about the shootings at the Virginia Tech campus.
On April 16, 2007 [a murderer] killed two people in the morning. Later the same day he went into a classroom. He put a note on the door saying that forcing the door will set off a bomb; once inside, he chained the door shut. Then he very slowly and deliberately started shooting; over the next nine minutes he shot 173 times.
There were 30 people in that room; every 3 seconds, there is a great boom, as the noise of a handgun inside a closed room is deafening. Boom… Boom… Kids are trying to hide under desks, hide behind each other, some just put their heads down on the desk and cry. BOOM… BOOOOM…
The kids now understand that this is the end for them. They are not going home; they are never going to see mommy and daddy again. BOOM… This is it! IS THERE A GOD? Well, stand by because that question is about to be answered. BOOM… BOOM… Every 3 seconds another shot. BOOM… Am I going to heaven? It is too late to change anything because I will be there TODAY.!!… or I won’t be…
NOW STOP THE CLOCK, stop the clock—-he has killed 10 people so far, 20 more to go. And those 20 know what is coming and there is no one to stop it. This is it for them.
Now listen close, because I am going to ask you a question before we start the clock again. There are 20 people left in the room and your daughter is number 12. Now number 8 in the room is pretty interesting; he is studying history, but when he got out of high school two years ago he went to Marine Military Police School and has spent the last two years as an MP. But now he is just a civilian except that he spent a week’s pay and studied and jumped through hoops, and has a concealed carry permit. He was checked out by the FBI, he passed his carry school, his fingerprints were checked out, he passed his shooting test, and he passed his test on the law. He has never committed a crime and he earned a concealed carry permit. He is allowed to carry in 48 states and in several states he can carry on college campuses, but not in Virginia.
In Virginia, as a law abiding person, he left his weapon at home. So now here is the question, remembering your daughter is number 12 – do you want number 8 to be able to carry on campus and be able to stop [the murderer]? START THE CLOCK! BOOM… BOOOM…
About the author: Tom Menner, a former Guns Save Life Board member, is now a resident of the Evansville, Indiana area, and is active with a group similar to GSL called the Second Amendment Patriots. Tom was one of the moving forces behind the GSL Burma-style sign education program.