Colorado State Rep. Patrick Neville (courtesy gunwars.news21.com)

“The only thing that is going to stop murderers intent on doing harm is to give good people the legal authority to carry a gun to protect themselves and our children.” That’s the word from Columbine High School massacre survivor and Colorado State Rep. Patrick Neville (R). Specifically, Mr. Neville has introduced legislation to enable teachers to exercise their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. It has little chance in the Democrat-controlled House. But what Mr. Neville has to say on the subject needs saying . . .

Neville, who graduated from Columbine High School, was in school on the day of the horrific shooting in 1999. “More of my friends would still be alive today,” if teachers were carrying guns . . .

“Parents wake up everyday and bring their children to school on blind faith that their kids will return home safe,” Neville said. “Unfortunately, the current system continues to leave our children as sitting targets for criminals intent on doing harm.”

How many more children will Democrats sacrifice on the altar of political correctness? For refusing to wave the bloody shirt for gun control, for sounding the alarm, Mr. Neville gets TTAG’s Gun Hero of the Day award. Do I wish there were more like him? Yes. And no. [h/t JM]

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

27 COMMENTS

  1. Do I wish there were more like him? Yes. And no.

    Yes: More who can think about this rationally, and serve in office at the same time.
    No: Fewer people who had to go through what he did.

    • Is he advocating teachers in school, while teaching only or nurses in hospitals, drivers of taxis, judges in courtrooms, ticket takers in theaters, etc. should be able to carry a gun for protection also?

      • Schools are public property. Your other examples are private property, and weapons policy is rightly left to the property owner.

  2. He provides a valuable offsetting opinion to counter the normal emotional-bloody-shirt-wavers which the anti-gun/anti-gun-rights forces always recruit after a tragedy.

    Thank you, Mr. Neville!

    • So your objection isn’t so much to emotional manipulation, just that the other side is doing it to serve their ends?

      I don’t agree. We have other tools at our disposal without resorting to the other side’s iinsidious tactics.

    • More guns in more hands = more deaths period
      Next you’ll want 6 year olds packin and how bout the testosterone packed jocks?

  3. “How many more children will Democrats sacrifice on the altar of political correctness?”

    As many as it takes to pass and implement a total ban on all civilian ownership of firearms. It’s called acceptable body count.

    • “It’s called acceptable body count.”

      Like the 30,000 deaths each year on public roads?

      We can cut that figure in *half* (if not more) if we would simply make the national speed limit 35 MPH and strictly enforced.

      Do you find 30,000 dead each year driving an acceptable body count?

      • And where is this progressive push to pass federal legislation to reduce speed limits nationwide? Or restrict cars ownership? Where is the blood shirt waving when some teenagers wrap their car around a tree? Why doesn’t the President constantly carp about vehicular deaths after each deadly accident? Why doesn’t he get so blindingly mad at traffic accidents it causes his eyes to water on camera?

        I know there is a progressive desire to force everyone into urban centers where we all are forced to live in Cabrini Green/Robert Taylor home like building and forced to use cattle car public transit (rail based preferred), but nowhere near as overt as the push to ban civilian ownership of firearms.

        Human in the US die in lots of different and unexpected way. It is part of life. It is a risk even choosing to get out of your bed, figuratively and quite literally. Drug overdoses, traffic accidents, drownings, falls, homicides. Only non-black peoples’ deaths (exception if killed by a white cop) by gun works up the progressives. In fact, they’re practically giddy at the breaking of an active shooter situation hoping it was done by some racist white conservative, often jumping to that wishful thinking before any facts have emerged. ABC’s Brian Ross a perfect example.

        I accept the risks of life in an imperfect world.

  4. I’m glad someone who went through that trajedy is blaming the criminals and not the object. May God bless him and keep him.

  5. Don’t get me wrong, I think the guy is okay and I admire him for not blaming inanimate objects and properly blaming the crazies; but surviving a terrible incident does not really make you a hero. Yeah, I have survived some nasty situations and injuries, but that does not make me a hero. Quite frankly, I usually attribute bad things to a bunch of morons and survival as just lucky.

    • I think the hero part–excuse me, TTAG “gun hero” part–comes in from him not adhering to the narrative set by the vast majority (if the “news outlets” are any indication) of his fellow survivors, and from him running for office and standing by his politically-incorrect, pro-gun convictions.

  6. Neville is a great voice in the Colorado capital. Send him a message letting him know you support him, proud to have him as my state senator.

  7. At a training seminar I met two of the officers who responded to Columbine. One of the things that bothered them the most was that there were escape routes the students could have used to get to safety. But instead, they initiated lockdown procedures with the shooters actively engaged in their carnage. The students hid under desks and just waited for the killers to find them. Basically it’s like hiding under a bed or in a closet when the fire alarm sounds and you wait for the firefighters to rescue you. The fire and smoke is seeking you out just like these killers did there. And yet even after the lessons learned we had Sandy Hook. These school shootings are trends, meaning they will continue to happen until we take a serious look at how to stop them. We trained in active shooter response and the first officer on scene must enter and get to the sounds of gunfire. But more is needed. A complete security protocol. Prevent the shooter from ever getting in. Hardened doors, windows. Security cameras. Lockdown procedures to keep him out and keep everyone safe. But if he gets in; a tactically appropriate response to repel or stop him. While this is occurring those in other parts of the school should be escaping to safety utilizing techniques similar to fire drills. A group dynamic escape plan where teachers lead the students out away from the danger. Staying together so responding police can identify that these are teachers and students. This can be modified for safety. Those close to the danger can lockdown while armed responders confront the shooter. These are a few ideas. More comprehensive security plans need to be developed and our administrations and legislators need to approve them.

  10. Been there, done that, survived, Whats so frigging hard too understand about this fellow thoughts about his experience @ Columbine School! Why didn’t more students fight back? my answer is that the School powers that be; have suppressed free thought and self sufficiency to the point of hinting that the state system will provide under all circumstances!! we are raising Sheeple not children, also they have been taught to ignore problems as if they did not exist! no country or Flag allegiance, no prayer, bless the gay, poor blacks, reject a moral, ethical Christian background, but embrace other Fanatical ones, kiss the immigrants ass, give them (illegals and unwelcome a better life than actual citizens of this country} IE: Free college, free housing, free medical, free food!
    I like this guy! one of a few that hasn’t been brainwashed by the Government

Comments are closed.