I joined the NRA and Gun Owners of America because the groupthink that I once spewed hurts law-abiding citizens and does nothing to prevent the next deranged copycat criminal. I now have a firearms channel on YouTube promoting the Second Amendment safely and responsibly; something I never imagined in 2014.

Since a 2008 study showed that 80 percent of crimes are committed with illegally obtained guns, “gun control” is a euphemism that won’t stop deranged people intent on killing. It took me a while, but I realize now that murders aren’t stopped by controlling an inanimate object. They’re stopped by heroic people like Dixon Police Officer Mark Dallas and Deputy Jim Long, and the many others who prevented active shooters from reaching potential victims.