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Yesterday Congress held a “markup” session on the House floor in which proposed legislation was discussed, which would place a ban on so-called assault weapons or rifles. At the same time, a debate continues over the merit of a “good guy with a gun,” when shootings unfold.

News Coverage from the Left: Indiana mall shooter used AR-style rifle targeted by proposed assault weapons ban (NBC News)

News Coverage from the Right: Police say 'Good Samaritan' prevented further loss of life in Indiana mall shooting: 'Tactically sound' (Fox News)

From The Flag: Last weekend’s shooting at an Indiana mall saw an armed bystander take down an active gunman, while the Uvalde Police Department faces scrutiny for failing to act sooner at Robb Elementary. Here’s more from both sides.

• In stunning contrast to the cowardice displayed in Uvalde, Indiana’s “good guy” reminded us self-protection is the most effective kind.
• Mass shootings get wall-to-wall coverage unlike events like this because the liberal media’s narrative drives the agenda.
• The armed bystander in Indiana was able to legally carry and thus save untold lives thanks to a law that took effect on July 1st.

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“A Young Gun Owner In Indiana Did What Uvalde Police Wouldn’t” Elle Reynolds, The Federalist: “Dicken didn’t run from the shooter nor express fears that he ‘could’ve been shot.’ He pushed his girlfriend, 19-year-old Shay Goldman, to safety and told her to stay down while he engaged the shooter… As a private citizen who put himself in danger to save others, Dicken did more to protect the lives of strangers than the Uvalde police did to protect the citizens they are sworn to defend. … Dicken’s actions remind us that, even when law enforcement does everything right (unlike what happened in Uvalde), your first line of defense should be yourself. The distance from your hand to a holster on your hip will always be shorter than the distance police have to travel to the scene. And when officers of the state show regrettable cowardice, as they did in Uvalde, the only courage you have to rely upon is your own.”

“When a Good Guy With a Gun saves lives” Teresa Mull, Spectator World: “Events like this one happen every day in America, but because they don’t fit the narrative of liberal gun control activists, they rarely get the attention mass shootings do. Instead of advocating for ways by which citizens can empower themselves, rather than wait around as sitting ducks for the police to show up, the left-wing media habitually uses tragic events as a political platform by which to trumpet for more gun control. … In addition to ignoring stories that don’t suit their political agenda, in reporting instances of gun violence, these outlets also almost always overlook a key fact. In every incident that comes to mind, a bad guy with a gun is always stopped by a good guy with a gun: a policer officer and/or an armed citizen disarms the shooter either by shooting him or threatening to do so.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Good Samaritan Helps Cool a Long, Hot Summer Carl M. Cannon, Real Clear Politics

• Data gathered over the past 20 years shows it's extremely rare for an armed bystander to effectively stop a shooting.
• The “good guy with a gun” argument has its roots in fanatical Christianity and the belief that rights are derived from God.
• Yes, Indiana’s “good guy” helped avoid even more carnage: but is that how we want to run our society?

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“Mass shooting at Indiana mall that left four dead raises controversial ‘good guy with a gun’ theory” Josh Marcus, The Independent:  “The 22-year-old ‘Good Samaritan’ hasn’t spoken about the experience himself. … That hasn’t stopped many backers of expansive gun possession rights and lax gun laws from using the shooting to back up their political arguments, reiterating the ‘good guy with a gun’ trope even though evidence suggests individuals with guns rarely stop shootings from occurring and sometimes make them worse. … While an armed bystander likely played a role in stopping Sunday’s Indiana shooting from becoming worse, data suggests this is far from the norm, despite the certainty of gun advocates. For example, a May report from the FBI found that a bystander, armed or otherwise, only stopped two out 61 ‘active shooter’ incidents in 2021. A New York Times analysis, meanwhile, found that trend held over time too: armed bystanders only killed 22 gunmen across 433 mass shootings since 2000.”

“The Myth of the ‘Good Guy With a Gun’ Has Religious Roots” Peter Manseau, New York Times Op-ed: “Is our gun problem a God problem? … For many American Christians, Jesus, guns and the Constitution are stitched together as durably as a Kevlar vest. … Entwining faith and firearms this way has a long history. It encompasses the so-called muscular Christianity movement that began in England in the 19th century with a focus on physical fitness as a path to spiritual strength … It is easy to miss, but this melding of evangelism and the right to bear arms is a step beyond the ‘natural rights’ argument for gun ownership, which holds that self-defense is a law of nature required to protect life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are often said to be God-given in the sense of being taken for granted, and they are enshrined as such in the Declaration of Independence.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: An armed bystander is not your savior Touré, The Grio Op-ed

Polling released earlier this month asked voters if a “good guy with a gun” is a good way to stop an armed criminal. More independents agreed with that statement (44%) than those that did not (28%).

Meanwhile, 69% of Republicans agreed with the statement, while 62% of Democrats said they disagreed (NPR/Ipsos).

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Flag Poll: Do you agree a “good guy with a gun” is an effective barrier against mass shootings? Click here to share your thoughts.

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On July 21, 2011, NASA’s space shuttle program completed its final, and 135th, mission, when the shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Above is a photograph of Atlantis after its, and the program's, final landing.

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Today I Learned people who grew up in the era of black and white movies mostly reported dreaming in black and white, while the people before and after them reported dreaming in color.