December 11, 2012 the nation almost experienced a mass shooting in Oregon just days before Sandy Hook. It didn’t happen because of a good guy with a gun. Nick Meli was at the Clackamas Mall outside of Portland, OR when an active shooter, Jacob Tyler Roberts, was loose in the mall killing two and injuring one. Meli legally carrying his concealed weapon took cover, drew his weapon but never fired a shot!
To make a long story short (see vid below) when Roberts saw Meli taking aim he knew it was over and shot himself. Meli explained the reason he didn’t take the shot was because he was concerned he may miss and hit a bystander.
Details of what happened and why he took the course of action of not shooting are in this video 5 days after the event:
[Language Warning]
The left doesn’t want Nick’s story to be known because it proves arguments made by pro-Second Amendment advocates are valid while disproving myths the left has conjured up in their quest for strict gun control.
Meli demonstrated in a time of crisis he was concerned about other people’s safety by not firing his weapon. Where as liberals claim if everyone was armed it would be like the wild west with everyone shooting at each other. He proved gun owners are not trigger happy that most have proper instruction on the use of firearms understanding the great responsibility of conceal carrying and the implications of drawing their weapon. Left argues gun owners are just looking for a gunfight regardless of carnage and chaos. Nick’s presence alone with weapon in hand was enough to stop the shooter. Again, the left argues more guns are not a deterrent because there are no statistics to support. This is correct only because there was no large body count prior to Meli or anyone else in similar situations drawing their weapon, stopping a threat before a large body count could occur. The left dismisses stories like this because of no body count, using the same logic Pres Obama has used about “saving jobs”. There is no supporting empirical data, just a “what if” claim if no action was taken. And like this story being unknown to countless Americans we can only imagine how many similar stories are out there. Fact of the matter is, the left isn’t interested in stories like this. They don’t like anything or anyone who proves their position is wrong.
Make no mistake about it, a good guy with a gun will stop a bad guy with a gun. No law restricting or taking away ones rights to self-defense in the name of safety will stop a crazed killer or terrorist. New laws disarming law-abiding people will come at a cost of more lives lost and the loss of liberty.