Few would say that a 100 or 50-round rifle magazine in the hands of a murderer is
a good idea. Yet, the “solution” for preventing a mass shooting exacts a high toll on the
everyday freedom of ordinary law-abiding citizens. Many individual robberies, rapes,
and shootings are not prevented by the State. Unless a law-abiding individual has a
firearm for his or her own defense, the police typically arrive after it is too late. With
rigor mortis setting in, they mark and bag the evidence, interview bystanders, and draw a
chalk outline on the ground. But the victim, nevertheless, is dead, or raped, or robbed, or
traumatized.