Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office: It is the Individual, Not the Gun

Following the recent tragedy that unfolded in a Dollar Store in Florida this weekend, all the usual jackals circled. Like clockwork, the gun control crowd took to the news and social media, screaming for more gun control. Fortunately, a voice of reason took to the podium and told it like it is. Sheriff T.K. Waters, of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office called out the real culprit—the individual.

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Speaks About Recent Shooting

Tragically, on Saturday, August 26^th, a suspect entered a Dollar Store in Jacksonville, Florida, and shot and killed three people. According to reports, the suspect began shooting at cars outside before entering the store, where he allegedly barricaded himself inside. After taking three lives, the suspect turned the gun on himself.

Following the incident, many took to social media and the news to blame the incident on guns. However, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters has a more logical explanation. Speaking to the media, Sheriff Waters made it clear that guns are not bad, but there are individuals who are.

In his statement, Sheriff Waters says, “We have to stop people that have bad intentions. The Story’s always about guns. People are bad; this guy’s a bad guy. If I take my gun off right now and lay it on this counter, nothing will happen. It’ll sit there — but as soon as wicked person grabs ahold of that handgun and starts shooting people with it — there’s the problem.”

It’s an age-old argument, but one that is still worth making. Guns are not the problem. People are. No gun has ever committed a crime of any kind; it is always the hands that hold it.

The Selective Outrage of Gun Control Advocates

It’s worth noting that when discussing the topic of 22 people shot in Chicago over the same weekend, including a 14-year-old and 8-year-old—crickets. Maybe it’s because this breaks the gun control narrative. Once again, it proves that criminals will be violent regardless, and the only people gun control disarms are law-abiding citizens. i.e., helpless victims.

Likewise, just a few days prior, a retired police officer opened fire at a bar in California, killing three and injuring six. And again—crickets. Even more so than Chicago, California is the poster child for gun control. It has everything:

• Universal background checks
• Gun registration
• Red flag law
• “Assault weapons” ban
• “High capacity” magazine ban
• 10-day waiting period on gun purchases
• Limit on the number of guns a law-abiding citizen can buy each month
• Ban on campus carry for self-defense
• Ban on K-12 teachers being armed for classroom defense
• Background checks for ammunition purchases

For the record, these are all of the things that the gun grabbers insist will stop gun violence.

So far, the picture being painted by these bastions of gun control looks more like a dystopian hellscape than any kind of peaceful utopia. If this is the kind of society they are creating, we’ll keep our guns. But thanks anyway.