Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Friday, March 24
    Trending
    • This Day in History on March 24th
    • History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?
    • This Day in History on March 23rd
    • R.I.P. Lance Reddick (1962-2023)
    • This Day in History on March 22nd
    • This Day in History on March 21st
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through March 20th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on March 20th
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»Society»Crime»Terrorists Do Not Need Guns
    Crime

    Terrorists Do Not Need Guns

    Major DanBy Major DanJune 3, 2019Updated:June 3, 2020No Comments5 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    2017 London Bridge attack

    A Brief History

    On June 3, 2017, radical Islamist terrorists once again struck London, England, with an attack that killed 8 people and injured another 48, as well as costing all 3 terrorists their lives.  The weapons used in the attack were a delivery van and knives.  The unarmed public and the 4 unarmed police officers on the scene were helpless to stop the attackers, though armed police that finally responded shot the 3 terrorists dead.  It took armed police 8 minutes to arrive, which undoubtedly seemed much longer to the victims.  All 3 terrorists were also found to be wearing explosive vests.

    Digging Deeper

    On March 22, 2017, a similar terrorist attack took place in London, again, perpetrated by a person aligned with radical Islamist terror groups.  This attack consisted of a ramming of pedestrians with an automobile and the subsequent stabbing to death of an unarmed police officer.  A total of 5 innocent victims were killed, as well as the perpetrator, again, killed by armed police that responded to the scene.

    Each stage of the attack and Masood’s route through Westminster.  Map by OpenStreetMap contributors.

    The horrific shooting rampage by a disturbed employee of the City of Virginia Beach in which he killed 12 innocent people and was subsequently shot to death by police during a gun battle on May 31, 2019, resulted in a massive hue and cry in the United States about demands to immediately pass gun control legislation, a stance virtually universally accepted by the 2 dozen plus candidates for the Democratic nomination for President.  In this case, while the perpetrator certainly used guns (2 .45 caliber pistols, both legally purchased), there is no way any of the recently proposed “gun control” measures would have prevented this terrible crime.  The often called for “universal background check” would not have stopped this event, as the murderer bought his guns after undergoing such checks.  Nor would any sort of waiting period.  Nor would any sort of reporting procedure based on psychiatric care or involvement with police.  Only the total ban on civilian ownership of firearms could have prevented the shootings, but of course would not have prevented the gunman from using an alternate method of wreaking havoc, such as fire, explosion, vehicular attack, or stabbing/slashing assaults.  Rules prohibiting the carrying of weapons in a municipal building certainly do not deter those with evil intent.  Those sort of rules only keep honest armed citizens out.  Maybe an armed employee or citizen conducting business in the municipal building could have saved lives.  Maybe not, but we can speculate.

    Remember, the worst terror attacks in American history were committed by using airplanes as weapons, and the hijackers were not armed with guns.  The worst school massacre in US history was committed with the use of explosives, as was the Oklahoma City Federal Building attack.

    Rear view of the school building after the bombing.  Uploaded by The Mystery Man at en.wikipedia.

    Perhaps the worst “terrorist” attack of all against Americans is the current opioid crisis, a scourge on our population that kills more than twice as many people per year than guns!  (Note: The United States has the 31st highest rate of gun deaths of all countries.  If you listen to the mass media, you would think we are in a class of our own with massive numbers of gun murders, but the facts, though depressingly bad enough, are not as catastrophic as often portrayed.)  Almost 40,000 Americans died from gunshot wounds in 2018, a terrible toll, but still only about half the deaths from drugs, mostly opioids.  An often overlooked factor in the so called “gun violence” deaths in the US, is the fact that 60% of gun related deaths are suicides, thus about 16,000 Americans are killed by gunfire due to accidents, murders, and justified homicide in self-defense or by police.

    While the entire country is in a dither over “gun violence” in the wake of the Virginia Beach tragedy, it is important to consider facts and reality when addressing the situation instead of emotion and misrepresentation.  Recently one of our British readers commented that he was quite satisfied with most British police not being armed.  We wonder how the victims in the London attacks detailed above felt about not having armed police on hand to save them!  Just as other tools can be used for good or bad purposes, such as fire, nuclear power, knives and hammers, guns are merely a tool that are subject to their use by human people that may use or misuse them.  This fact needs to be kept in mind when we consider if we need gun control or “people control.”

    Question for students (and subscribers): Should the British arm all of their police officers?  Please reply in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Combs, Cynthia. Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century. Routledge, 2017.

    Cook, Aaron. Defending Self Defense: The Fallacy of Gun Control in America. Amazon Digital Services, 2018.

    Jenco, John. The Fallacy: Freedom and the Gun Debate in America. Crowne Publishing, 2013.

    Kenney, Michael. The Islamic State in Britain: Radicalization and Resilience in an Activist Network. Cambridge University Press, 2018.

    McGreal, Chris. American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts.  PublicAffairs, 2018.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph by Matt Brown of floral tributes at London Bridge on 6 June 2017 following the 3 June 2017 terrorist attack, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.  This image was originally posted to Flickr by Matt From London at https://flickr.com/photos/57868312@N00/34308551364. It was reviewed on 2017-06-10 08:05:12 by FlickreviewR, who found it to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0, which is compatible with the Commons.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous Article5 World Leaders Involved in May-December Romances
    Next Article 10 Female Dare Devils! (Aviation Edition)
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?

    March 24, 2023

    History Short: Is Nuclear Power Safe?

    March 12, 2023

    History Short: Fairytale Marriages that did Not Last

    March 9, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on March 24th

    March 24, 2023

    History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?

    March 24, 2023

    This Day in History on March 23rd

    March 23, 2023

    R.I.P. Lance Reddick (1962-2023)

    March 23, 2023

    This Day in History on March 22nd

    March 22, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.