I was recently asked by a reporter for a college newspaper "What personal experience drove me to get Nebraska Students for Concealed Carry started?"
I was not prepared for that question, and didn't have a GOOD response. Then at the empty holster protest today, a question posed by an opponent brought out the real reason.
Anonymous: "Have you ever seen someone shot?"
I responded: "Yes, I have. Many people. [Entire families massacred actually, defenseless victims of ethnic cleansing, who had been illegally disarmed by the unit before us] "
He immediately stormed away before I could finish. I yelled to him, "I appreciate you approaching this idea with logic and an open mind!"
So here is my response to the reporter's question:
I have seen many people killed. Entire families massacred actually, defenseless victims of ethnic cleansing, who had been illegally disarmed by the unit before us. There were Iraqi Police in the area, however they only arrived in time to clean up the mess. Written on the wall in blood: "We reclaim this house from a non-Muslim."
In every area I was in, pacification occurred most rapidly after we purposely armed militias called "Sons of Iraq" to protect their neighborhoods. These individuals were authorized to open carry anywhere in their own village, including schools, and were almost entirely untrained and self regulating. Even regular civilians were allowed to keep firearms for self defense in their own homes, and, at the discretion of local forces, many where allowed to carry concealed weapons, including school teachers.
The moral of the story: Disarming the law abiding only empowers the criminal.