How many people in the audience can say that you or someone you know has been shot at? Or how many of you know how to use or operate a weapon? I’m not asking this to make you afraid, I’m asking to inform you of what the different outcomes could happen if you’re ever in an event of danger.

As many of you know, there are people out there who are not right in the head, and they have access to weapons, mainly guns. With access to these guns, terrible people such as the recent gunman from the Las Vegas shooting when he killed 58 people and injured another 500.

This man had allegedly bought 33 different guns in the past year and has been saving them for the past year and a half, according to Fox News. He was apparently a multi-millionaire who had bad gambling problems, mix that with alcoholism which leads to rage and anger, that’s a madman with bad intentions and is willing to do anything at any cost.

We don’t have any chance to take anything away from anyone, but what we can do requires, responsibility, bravery, and strong minded people in order to help this country.

Let’s go back to the Las Vegas incident. The call came in at 10:08 p.m. Sunday night. It took SWAT teams what seemed like hours, but it was just 72 minutes to get to the scene. Cops were armed and ready at the door at 10:55 p.m., but were told to wait until further back up came.

Finally, at 11:21 p.m. SWAT teams showed up with police at the door, they heard a few more gunshots, and finally they decided to enter. But as they got in, just moments before the gunman had shot himself. In the time that it took for the SWAT teams to find the door, it must have been hard to find a definite room for the gunshots. Out of all the different rooms, it would be hard to know the exact room.

If there was someone in the next room over with weapon training he or she would have been able to stop the shooter before anymore people died, before the 72 minutes had passed. Now if this happened in our schools or in our neighborhoods, having a responsible person right there with gun training and the bravery to accept the call to action might stop these problems more quickly and with fewer casualties.

I’d say I need you to do the right thing when the time calls, but it’s the call to action that is the hardest thing to respond to as an average citizen. We are all taught to run, hide, then if all else fails then fight back. What I’m saying is, use those steps in that order: run into danger, hide behind cover, and if that all works out then fight back.

Be strategic about it. Don’t run into gunfire, but try to stop it. I know we were always told not to be a hero growing up, but maybe our community needs some heroes.

So when a madman comes to our schools, or our banks, or even when a crazy old man could be holding his wife and kids hostage inside their own home, having a responsible person in the house, being the wife or the oldest kid in the household, doesn’t matter if it’s a boy or girl, give them gun safety classes, to help protect each other.

People can save lives. Badges should not justify when someone can fight back during an attack. We don’t have a perfect world or perfect people. If one in a 1,000 people had guns to protect people in a dangerous situation, people should be able to use them. It’s not necessarily the right thing to do but if taking one’s life to save another then it should mean something to someone.

Cyrus Dillard,

Snohomish