Fully Loaded Danger

Ready to learn? Isn't that how we want our children to feel when they go to school?

Try explaining that to Leonard Embody... Or maybe not. The Tennessee open carry activist says people who are offended by his carrying of an assault weapon just outside a Nashville school should "see a psychologist".

WSMV Channel 4

Actually, he may force some of the kids at that school to seek counseling. After all, wouldn't you be at least a little scared if you saw someone like Leonard Embody pack heat right outside your school?

There have been at least 79 school shootings since Newtown. One of those school shootings was right here in Nevada, at Sparks Middle School. Contrary to what open carry radicals like Leonard Embody say, this is no laughing matter.

Just so far this year, there have been 98 homicides in Las Vegas Metro Police's area of jurisdiction. Our homicide rate is the highest it's been since 2006.



Even Metro itself has been affected by this. In June, Las Vegas Metro Officers Alyn Beck & Igor Soldo were shot dead by extreme right-wing Patriot Movement figures Amanda & Jerad Miller. They also shot dead Joseph Robert Wilcox before they killed themselves.



Jerad Miller may have obtained a gun via Facebook. Even though he was not legally permitted to own any firearms (due to past felony convictions), Miller was able to evade this because of the lack of universal background checks for gun purchases.

All too often, the NRA and its favorite G-O-TEA politicians have been all too willing to play silly games with the serious issue of gun violence. They think it's cute to grandstand with a bunch of "outlaw cowboys" pointing guns at federal agents. They think it's great to see people open carry in front of schools. They think it's more important to discuss the "philosophy of gun rights" and explore theoretical language than to actually make any real policy changes that could save lives.

This is why Leonard Embody is allowed to roam outside a Nashville school packing heat. This is why Las Vegas' homicide rate continues to inch upward. This is why Alyn Beck, Igor Soldo, and Joseph Robert Wilcox are no longer on this earth. This is why Sparks Middle School will never be the same. And this is why we can't afford to ignore the fully loaded danger around us.