“Gun Talk” Host Discusses Tucson Shooting

TYLER — The host of “Gun Talk,” heard on KTBB, has his say in the aftermath of Saturday’s shooting rampage in Tucson. Speaking with KTBB, Tom Gresham again targeted gun control advocates. According to Gresham, people who do not plan to take care of themselves say someone should take care of them — but people who actually take control of their own safety ask what else they need to do to take care of themselves and their families. Gresham says you can’t make people behave — the only question is what you as an individual are prepared to do about it.

Gresham says training is key. He comments that some say you don’t know how you’ll react in a situation like the one in Tucson — but that actually you do if you’re properly trained. And according to Gresham, training doesn’t just mean learning how to shoot a gun. He says it means learning how to react to attacks — how to move, how to communicate, how to shoot, how to use cover, etc. Gresham adds that according to statistics, people use guns to stop crime and protect themselves between one million and two million times a year in the U.S.

Gresham also says the man who jumped on the shooter after the shooting stopped was carrying a gun and was going to use it on the shooter as soon as he got there; Gresham says the rampage just ended right before he got there. Gresham asks, “Do you want to wait and have someone else protect you or do you want to have the ability to do it yourself? It really is as simple as that…As we like to say, ‘When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.'”

Gresham additionally discussed the possible role of “toxic rhetoric” in spurring the shooting. Gresham comments, “This is just an attempt by one group to shut down talk by another group. If you follow their logic, eventually we will all have to submit our remarks, prior to making them, to the government to get them approved…It’s crazy, it’s insane, but it’s once again from the people who brought you gun control; now they want speech control — and all of it is about controlling you.”