GUNS AND GUTS: WHY EFFETE MEDIA FEAR REAL MEN

Sometimes an event happens that has a meaning beyond itself. A few months ago, Sutherland Springs, Texas, experienced the worst church shooting in U.S. history. Dozens of people were killed by a 26-year-old with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Thankfully, he was stopped cold by Stephen Willeford who lived nearby – and had an AR-15 of his own.

Inside all this horror stands the secure knowledge of what one “good guy with a gun” can do if he has the heart. But it touched me also to learn that this hero (he says he’s not) had been an NRA instructor who spent much of his time teaching kids the meaning and purpose of firearms – and how to handle the responsibility.

First I should say, I was one of those “kids” – I had learned to shoot during my middle school years, thanks to an NRA training program at summer camp. I got good enough to compete with other boys who lived in the Tri-State area surrounding Manhattan.

By my senior year at Trinity School, I had already developed an appreciation for the spirit behind the Second Amendment, and how it related to my country. I was captain of the rifle team and regularly carried my Remington 22 on the New York City subway. No one cared, although they knew what was in my rifle case.

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