Apparently Criminals and Maniacs Don't Follow Rules

The headline was humorous, despite the tragic story: "Did Fort Hood Shooter Violate Military Base Rules?" asked NBC, breathlessly. 

Unbelievable, isn't it — that a crazy man intent on committing mass murder wouldn't follow the rules?

Clearly, they need more rules!

The suspected shooter, Spc. Ivan Lopez, brought his gun onto Ft. Hood despite the restrictions, which include a requirement that firearms be registered, be brought onto the post only through a designated gate, and be subject to inspection. The only people allowed to carry a concealed weapon on a military base are police officers and security personnel.

This laboratory is a gun-controller's wet dream: a large area where the right to keep and bear arms is severely restricted, and where only cops can carry guns.

These rules, claimed Lt. Gen. Mark Milley in an April 2013 memorandum, would "help prevent accidents or incidents that could cause serious injury or death to service members or civilians on the installation."

But only if the rules are followed.

Decent, law-abiding soldiers and civilians were following the rules on Wednesday, and the four people killed and sixteen wounded are another testament to the failure of gun control. 

Last year, after a mass killing at the Washington Navy Yard, Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) sponsored the Safe Military Bases Act, which would allow all service members to be armed while on base.

Imagine that: guns on a military base! Those opposed sound like President Muffley in Dr. Strangelove. 

"This is the third mass shooting on a military base in five years, and it's because our trained soldiers aren't allowed to carry defensive weapons," Rep. Stockman said, in a statement released on Thursday.

"Anti-gun activists have turned our military bases into soft targets for killers," he added.

They truly have.

Even worse, if given their way, the entire country would be a soft target for criminals and maniacs who don't give a damn about rules.