On Wednesday, October 18, an 18 year-old college student entered Kerch Polytechnic College in the city of Kerch (located in Russia-controlled Crimea) and began firing on fellow students and instructors.
When his attack was done 15 minutes later, at least 20 people were dead and 70 others wounded. The attacker then took his own life.
The American news media aren't giving wall-to-wall coverage on this attack, but it deserves the attention of the American public. Why? Because every law that gun control advocates claim will stop these attacks here in America is already in place in Russia, and the terrible results speak for themselves.
Gun control “school shooting solution” #1 – implement so-called “universal” background checks – FAIL
The Associated Press notes that Russian citizens must undergo significant background checks to own any firearm. They must also attend gun-safety classes and pass a federal test. Private transfers of firearms are illegal.
The attacker in this case had recently passed all Russian government background checks tests and received permission to own a firearm to use for hunting.
Gun control “school shooting solution” #2- ban so-called “assault” weapons- FAIL
Russia already bans civilian ownership of the kinds of rifles gun control extremists have incorrectly branded as “assault weapons.” The AP reports that guns are tightly restricted in Russia. Civilians can own only hunting rifles and smooth-bore shotguns.
The attacker in this case used a shotgun and an improvised explosive device.
Gun control “school shooting solution” #3 – ban so-called “high capacity” magazines – FAIL
Gun control extremists and their mainstream media cohorts have branded standard capacity magazines for modern sporting rifles and most semi-automatic handguns as “high-capacity” magazines, and claim that banning them will prevent school shootings.
Russian law bans magazines that hold more than ten rounds.
The attacker used a firearm that likely didn't even have a detachable magazine, let alone one that held more than ten rounds.
Gun control “school shooting solution” #4 – ban handguns – FAIL
Although they do everything they can to hide it these days, gun control extremists' ultimate goal is to ban ALL guns. In the 1970's and 1980's, they were much more open about this goal. Indeed, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence was originally named Handgun Control, Inc.
The Brady bunch would fit in well in Russia, where the ownership of handguns is illegal. But again, the attacker in this case used a shotgun.
ALSO NOTE: according to the Law Library of Congress, there is a huge black market for weapons in Russia, and most weapons used by criminals are stolen military or police guns, guns sold by law enforcement personnel who seized illegal weapons from criminals and did not register the confiscation of those firearms, or firearms made from modified nonlethal guns. As such, even if every Russia-style gun control ban were to be implemented here, it wouldn't prevent criminals from gaining access to guns. We know this because it hasn't prevented it in Russia.
Gun control “school shooting solution” #5 – ban concealed carry – FAIL
Gun control extremists hate American concealed carry laws, especially when they allow citizens to carry schools. They routinely fight efforts to allow persons with concealed firearms to protect our students in schools.
Concealed carry is banned in Russia, as is carrying guns for self-defense.
The attacker in this case had unrestricted access for 15 minutes to carry out his attack, because no one was around who was allowed to carry a firearm and fight back.
Gun control “school shooting solution” #6 – implement so-called “red flags” laws – FAIL
Gun control extremists claim we can prevent school shootings by passing laws which violate Americans' constitutional right to due process of law by allowing police to take firearms from people who may be exhibiting certain “red-flags,” without respect for their Constitutional right to due process. Russia has taken it one step further, denying ANYone who is mentally ill or who has been treated for substance abuse the ability to own a firearm.
According to those who knew him, the attacker in this case “was not very sociable and often put gloomy posts on his social media page.” These red flags did not prevent the Russian government from giving him permission to own a firearm.
Gun control “school shooting solution” #7 – implement so-called “mandatory safe storage” laws – FAIL
Gun control advocates claim that we can prevent school shootings by passing laws that would blanketly mandate that firearms be stored in certain ways, often making them largely inaccessible when needed most – in an attack necessitating the need for self-defense.
Russia has strict procedures regulating the storage of firearms by private individuals, but the attacker in this case was not deterred.
Despite the fact that Russia has already tried LITERALLY EVERTHING gun control advocates claim will prevent school shootings here in America, don't be surprised when they are right back to suggesting these “solutions” the next time a high-profile attack occurs here. That's because their real goal ISN'T to prevent school shootings – it's to overturn the Second Amendment and bring Russian-style gun control to our shores.
Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is co-founder of BFA-PAC, and served as its Vice Chairman for 15 years. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.