Holly Hill Shooting - 1 Dead 3 Wounded

Guess where Holly Hill is.  You got it, Florida, the proud bearer of the crown.

Police said two people in a stolen black SUV came to the hotel where the men were outside of an open hotel room. After a short discussion, gunfire erupted and two or three people took off in the SUV.

Four people were shot.  One of them ran across the street to a neighboring hotel where he collapsed.

One of those shot, 19-year-old Donnell Ellis was later pronounced dead at Halifax Medical Center.

Of the three surviving victims, one is recovering from surgery, the other two are listed in critical condition after their surgeries.

They are Darshawn Broadwater, 19, Leroy Gadson, 19, and Jamie Evans, 20.

The police chief called it very disturbing that a shooting like this would happen in the middle of a Saturday afternoon on the city's busiest street. 

It was a scary thought for Deirdre Robinson and her daughter who live nearby.  

Now, the first thing I want to know is this. In Florida, which is one of the most gun friendly states in the US of A, how come no one intervened? Where were all the legitimate gun owners who carry guns for the very purpose of protecting us from stuff like this?

I'll tell you where they were. They were nowhere. The ones who very well may have been within reach of the action, which took place in broad day light, by the way, you know the hotel owner, the neighbor across the street, the casual passerby, were all frightened into inaction. They were either paralyzed with fear, after all it's fear plain and simple that prompted them to get guns in the first place, or they hesitated just long enough for the action to play itself out and then decided to ignore the whole thing. They certainly wouldn't want to admit that they could have done something and didn't.

Meanwhile, the lax gun laws in Florida, which those same gun owners demand as their god-given right, ensure that weapons are always available to criminals. Through easy theft, through straw purchases from FFL guys known to turn a blind eye, through private sales at gun shows or in the want-ads, Florida is a gun-buying haven for criminals.
 
This fascinating and symbiotic relationship between the law-abiding gun owners and criminals makes one wonder where do you draw the line? Where do the good guys end and the bad guys begin?

I say they're all guilty and they're all responsible for the trouble, each in their own way.  The only exceptions will be those few gun owners who actually agree with the gun control folks.  There are some, unfortunately in the minority, who are not so self-centered and not so afraid of inconvenience that they agree with us on the major issues.  To those I offer a tip of my hat and all my respect.  To the others I say, "shame on you, you're a bunch o' bums."


What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.