Virtuous Hands with a Gun

“What actually stops an evil psychopath is what we saw on Sunday—a good guy with a gun.” – Jordan Stein, spokesman, Gun Owners of America

Would the massacre have happened if the congregation of the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas had clung as tightly to guns as their Bibles? On Sunday, in a bizarre echo of Sayfullo Saipov's Halloween rampage in New York, suspect Devin Patrick Kelley, 26, brought death into a house of worship. Like some villain straight out of the slasher flick “Scream,” he was outfitted in black body armor and a skull mask. Within this sacred space, this Grim Reaper killed 26 innocents and wounded 20. Thirty miles east of San Antonio, in the worst mass shooting in Texas history: about 4% of the town's population (reported as 683) were slain.

Since time immemorial, that's what civilized people call acts of evil. Ultimately, Mr. Kelley's true problem was his homicidal impulses—expressed as externalized rage. Therefore, holding responsible the inanimate object, that was his tool of choice, is a simplistic response. So too is blaming the law that criminals habitually disregard as somehow “insufficient”. In that vein is the imperfect background check that inadvertently allowed Mr. Kelley access to the firearm he utilized (read: The Air Force failed to provide the FBI with the shooter's criminal history). And despite this unfortunate bureaucratic blunder, where does individual accountability factor into this latest bloodbath?

In reality, almost anything physically imposing can be used as a weapon. For example, just last week in New York a zealot screaming “Allahu akbar” misappropriated a rental truck killing 8 and injuring 12. Likewise, at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, South Carolina on August 12, a third unhinged miscreant, James Alex Fields Jr., killed local protester Heather Heyer, 32, and injured 19 others with his Dodge Challenger. If guns are truly the systemic “problem” here—as gun control advocates repeatedly parrot—why does Chicago persist as an annual killing field despite the strictest gun laws in the nation? And why aren't these same critics ignoring the unfettered freedom to buy cars, and rent trucks? After all, don't all of the above potentially serve an evildoer's murderous design?

As the 18th century philosophical father of modern conservatism, Edmund Burke famously remarked, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” To that end, a good Samaritan interceded on Sunday in Sutherland Springs. That small town hero gaining national attention is Stephen Willeford, 55. Synchonistically, he's a former National Rifle Association instructor who confronted the attacker, wounding him twice (in his Velcro covered side despite protective plating). As light dispels darkness, Mr. Willeford repealed villainy despite his fear, and the inherent danger. As he told local affiliate 40/29 News in Fort Smith-Fayetteville:

“I think my God, my Lord protected me and gave me the skills to do what needed to be done, and I just wish I could have gotten there faster.”

In this regard, mere mortals beg to differ. This faithful defender got to the scene so quickly he arrived barefoot. Alerted by his daughter of the sounds of a firearm discharging, Mr. Willeford removed his own rifle from its safe, loaded a magazine, and ran across the street to the church. Standing behind a pickup truck for cover, he exchanged gunfire with the escaping interloper. He even shot through the open driver's side window of Mr. Kelley's fleeing Ford Expedition SUV. At a stop sign, Mr. Willeford then flagged down a 27-year-old motorist, Johnnie Langendorff, and a high-speed highway chase ensued. En route the younger man called 911. Eventually, their pickup caught up to the gunman's SUV. Apparently, the assailant started driving erratically. He pulled over to the side, seeming to slow down, then accelerated again until he hit a road sign, lost control and flipped his truck which landed in a ditch. Mr. Langendorff pulled over, and ducked down. Meanwhile, his heroic companion exited the vehicle, planting his rifle on top of the pickup's hood. Keeping a look out, Mr. Willeford yelled for his adversary to get out of his truck, but all remained still. When law enforcement arrived on the scene, they confirmed that Devin Kelley had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

Separated by time, specific circumstances and geography is the fact that guns in legal and responsible hands actually preserve life. This is also true of another hero, New York police officer Ryan Nash, who subdued Islamic terrorist Sayfullo Saipov; and Charlottesville police who subsequently apprehended suspect James Fields. Indeed, the loss of life is a terrible tragedy—particularly in situations initiated by the radicalized. For resolution, what demands society's focus is the discounted evildoer himself, not the distraction of his method. Philosophically to blame a criminal's firearm is equivalent to condemning the car or the truck rather than its driver. It's a false premise that misses the crux of the issue. Such intentional naivety actually endangers the public. These days, in diverse gathering places like First Baptist Church or Sandy Hook Elementary School, what's become more unsafe than a gun-free zone?

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Illegals: Don't Mess With Texas

Obviously, green card holders aren't American citizens. Why then did Rosa Ortega of Grand Prairie, TX, 37, assume she was entitled to vote? Further, why did she foolishly sign government forms attesting to U.S. citizenship? Unfortunately for this Mexican-born, Texas-raised mother of four, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Perhaps taking a page from D.C.'s “new sheriff” President Trump, the Lone Star State's penalty—imposed by Ms. Ortega's jury—shows startling backbone: eight years in the pokey and a $5000 fine for voter fraud. Beyond her stiff sentence, she also defies the expectations of a political stereotype: reportedly she voted for pro-law enforcement Republicans. There's some delicious irony in that.

Given this nightmarish scenario, Ms. Ortega's understandable reaction is very human one:

“Why me, God? Eight years for signing a piece of paper wrong. I didn’t know what I was doing. I don’t have any criminal record. Why am I the example?”

Notice how her words denote false victimization. An almost lawyerly evasiveness to diminish her illegal acts, perpetrated since 2004. Specifically, Ortega had voted in five elections in Dallas County before her voter registration was nixed in April of 2015. Per Fox 4 News, her identity was scrutinized after she tried to register to vote twice in Tarrant County. Those applications were both denied.

Doesn't this pattern of wrongdoing indicate willful ignorance? Hers is a total denial of personal responsibility for her choices—and their unexpected consequences. Indeed, Ortega is swiftly discovering a new paradigm like so many others in the shadows. Unlike Obama's lackadaisical regime, in Trump's America laws and legal status matter—again.

Despite Ms. Ortega's sympathetic protestations, voting by non-citizens is not a meaningless crime. Its stealthy practice is actually an insidious assault upon our country's soul. After all, what's more fundamental than diluting the all-important voice of We the People?

In most cases (not Ortega's: she's a permanent resident), this “thievery” is perpetrated by an unknown segment of an invisible, squatting underclass of foreign invaders with no legal standing. Perhaps assisting matters, per Pew Center statistics, voter inaccuracies are rampant. They include: dead people still registered and/or voting, the same person registered in two or more locations, and largely faulty or completely invalid registrations. How many of those permit illegals to vote?

Moreover, do they yet exert enough influence to tilt an election? What of a 2015 survey that indicates that 13% of illegals confess to fraudulent voting in California with its treasure trove of 55 electoral votes? Election results there show that since 1992, to the present, the nation's most populist state has voted solidly Democrat. Is it just coincidence that the outspokenly pro-illegal Democratic Party dominates there? These are the pressing, unanswered political questions of our age.

Elections aside, it's beyond naive to believe that the bushels of bad apples among the undocumented don't have a harmful impact upon our society. What of the tragic murders of Kate Steinle and Jamiel “Jas” Shaw II at the violent hands of illegals? Their premature deaths would not have occurred otherwise. More recently, neither would the bathroom gang rape of a 14-year old ninth-grader by two older illegal teens in Maryland's Rockville High School in March of 2017. Based on 2014 government data, the Pew Research Center estimates approximately 3.9 million kindergarten through 12th-grade students in U.S. schools—or 7.3% of the total—are children of illegal aliens. At minimum, how is that not a cultural disruption and a logistical nightmare? Likewise, how is a suspected 11 (or is it 30?) million strangers freely adrift within our borders—with no incentive to assimilate—never anything to be concerned about?

Insulated from danger, the powerful and moneyed families of Washington's elected officials are safe. As the establishment of both parties remains unaffected, their nonchalance on these related issues is easy to understand. For decades, why not act like metaphorical ostriches with heads buried in sand while an abetting MSM happily plays along? Yet, ignoring these glaring problems doesn't change their reality. For context, contrast that high school child's brutal sexual assault—or the killing of innocents—to Rosa Ortega temporary loss of freedom (and potential deportation). To borrow the catchphrase from the 1970's TV show “Baretta”: “Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.” Her unlucky fate broadcasts an important social and political message: lawbreakers, big and small, beware.

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Horror Within “Sanctuary” School

“Part of the reason the president has made illegal immigration and [a] crackdown such a big deal is because of tragedies like this. Immigration pays its toll on our people if it's not done legally. And this is another example.” – Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary, on March 21, 2017

What was 18-year old Henry E. Sanchez-Milian—a full-grown adult from Guatemala—doing in the ninth grade at Maryland's Rockville High School? Likewise, his El Salvadorian partner in crime, Jose O. Montano, 17. Both now stand accused of carnal crimes so depraved that they're almost too graphic to describe. For their sheer brutality against a fellow 14-year old student, their assault has risen to the president's attention. Even this eventuality—and their swift, same day arrest due to the girl's immediate report—is ultimately little consolation. Clearly, her life has been forever changed.

Around 9 AM last Thursday March 16, the two suspects approached the victim in a remote hallway near the gym. Per court documents released that Friday, the girl stated she knew Montano but not Sanchez-Milian. Montano asked for a hug, grabbed her buttocks, and requested sex but was refused. After being rebuffed a second time, he pushed her into a boys' bathroom. She resisted, held onto a sink, but was overpowered into a stall. Montano then stripped her. The possibility of escape was nullified by Sanchez-Milian who swiftly joined his co-conspirator. Cornered, trapped like prey—her cries, begging and screams ignored —they took turns restraining her, forcing her to perform oral sex before gang-raping and sodomizing her. So much for her right to autonomy as a U.S. citizen. What of this child's reasonable expectation to safety in a public school?

A fundamental truth that neither the school system in Maryland nor U.S. Border Patrol in Texas want to acknowledge: if this duo of illegal aliens had not been present in the school (or for that matter, the country), this outrage would not have happened.

Two of Barack Obama's “Dreamers” have visited a nightmarish hell upon an innocent. Recall, these young men were raised elsewhere during their formative years. They've only been stateside for roughly seven or eight months. How could they understand our cultural norms? Therefore, it's beyond naive to assume that these illegal foreigners on—or just beyond—the cusp of manhood, would instantly or instinctively acclimate to our customary respect for female minors. Indeed, they were the fox in Montgomery County's underage hen house. Its doors thrown open by do-gooder school authorities in the name of “diversity” and “inclusiveness”. Rather than being the farmer who protects his defenseless, the school abetted her assault by creating the environment in which such a calamity occurred.

Sanchez-Milian's path to infamy started as so many other border jumpers do. After all, what true incentive does any lawbreaker have to embrace our cultural standards, or heed our laws? As background, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Matthew Bourke said:

“In August 2016, Henry Sanchez-Milian was encountered by a border patrol agent in Rio Valley Grande, Texas, who determined the individual had unlawfully entered the United States from Mexico. Sanchez-Milian was issued a notice to appear [Barack Obama’s de facto ‘catch and release’ policy] in front of an immigration judge, which is currently waiting to be scheduled.”

In hindsight, was it wise to cut this individual loose to disappear into the wild? In any case, he will never make that Texas immigration hearing now (whenever the system gets around to holding it). Ironically, Sanchez-Milian might get his wish of a permanent stay. He's charged as an adult (same as Montano) with first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sexual offenses. These crimes carry the possibility of life imprisonment. Subsistence in an American cage. A fate that's somehow too good for him.

At the moment, that's cold comfort to the violated 14-year old student. She has been utterly failed by every level of the government the new president has inherited. As we have seen, a systemic problem in which various local, state and federal elements share culpability. Still, the underlying trouble is a bureaucratic mind-set epitomized by Montgomery County Council President Roger Berliner:

“To the extent we are quote coddling—we are coddling people who have been in this community for 25, 20 years and have never done anything wrong other than work one, two or three jobs, raise a family and be part of our community. They have done nothing wrong other than be here quote undocumented.”

That's convoluted thinking of the highest order. So, as long as this shadowy underclass of squatters doesn't defy our other laws everything is kosher? Make no mistake—simply by being present within our borders without permission—is already a criminal act. Thus, at best, the undocumented induce resource-draining chaos into our society if not outright danger as demonstrated here. The virtue of an underage girl obviously doesn't matter to two criminals who savagely took what they wanted, but it certainly should matter to the powers that be in Maryland.

Why then is local politician Roger Berliner outspoken about the wrong thing? His priority, as expressed previously at a meeting of county department heads early last month, is: “We’re fearful they’re [illegals] going underground in a way that will cause harm to them.” Cause harm to them? Tell that to last week's brutalized 14-year-old child! Today, rather than accept responsibility, Berliner publicly passes the buck, “One of two individuals [Sanchez-Milian] was stopped by ICE in Texas and released. How is this on us?” It's on him and his cohorts because of their collective failure to protect a student under their care while on school property. If she was Berliner's daughter, would he still be so blasé and obtuse?

Unfortunately, Berliner's nonchalant attitude is not unique. It's widely shared by many similarly insulated decision-makers who shape the public institutions that contributed to this wretchedness. For context, imagine the firestorm if one of the Obama girls had been in her shoes! Of course, that would never happen due to Secret Service protection. Still, the rule-makers responsible—specifically the former president—can afford to send their children to uber-safe private schools. Those places of privilege are not obligated to educate anyone who walks through the door, no questions asked. Thus, theirs are the real sanctuary schools. You know, the same ones the troublemaking Sanchez-Milians of the world—who jump borders and cross state lines—will never gain access to.

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