The fallacy of Louie Gohmert's assertion.

Texas Republican Louie Gohmert asserted today that, had the principal had an M-4 semiautomatic rifle in her possession, the tragedy at Sandy Hook could have been minimized.

Idiot.

People like Gohmert set up scenarios where the outcome is always on their side, irrespective of the potential variations of intervening events.

Gohmert's simplistic scenario takes no account for a wide range of circumstances, where the principal:

• Already knows how to handle an M-4;
• Would have been nearby the locked M-4, and had the lock on her;
• Wasn't on vacation or sick;
• Could shoot accurately from 50 yards away, without accidentally hitting other children directly or by ricocheting bullets or fragments;
• Has no issue with killing people and can do so without thinking;
• Was willing to kill any human shield to get to the killer;
• Knows how many killers there are and knows exactly where they are;
• Isn't the killer's first target.

And after all, if Gohmert was correct in his conclusion, then there would be no point to all the SWAT training and the development of specialized police forces, as well as sending in teams of SWAT members, into live situations.  No need to wait for SWAT; heck, no need for SWAT.

I can't even imagine what the school's insurer would think, if the school kept a locked M-4; what happens when someone breaks in and steals it?

We can even extend this to make a simple examination of the case of where conservatives believe that we need more guns, not less.  In this variation, everyone with a gun pulls out their guns out and tries to kill anyone they see with a gun; a free for all gun fire.  Now you have to profile every person with a gun and figure out which M4-toting chump is the killer.  Worse yet, now it's even easier for some loose cannon to blend into the crowd then suddenly go nuts.

More guns equals more violence, period.