Guns: We need more people packing heat

Many years ago, I watched a “60 Minutes” interview with Louis L’Amour, the prolific Western novel writer. One of the topics covered in the interview was L’Amour’s debunking of common myths we have about the old West.

L’Amour discussed the old scene many of us probably saw in Western movies and TV series where the cowboys were drunk and shot up the town. L’Amour said this simply didn’t happen. Many of the men in those Western towns were veterans of the Civil War, and they obviously knew how to use firearms.

L’Amour stated that the cowboys, if they attempted to shoot up a town, would have been “shot to pieces” by the townsmen.

The same would apply to our society now if we had more ordinary people with concealed weapons. More guns in the hands of citizens means less crime. The sooner we start putting down these mad dogs in the streets (which is what they deserve), the sooner those who would commit violent acts will learn that certain death will be the outcome.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Guns: We need more people packing heat."