BELLEVUE, WA – The terrible arson attack in Japan Thursday that has reportedly claimed at least 33 lives and injured 36 others should serve as a grim, but necessary reminder that even in what is essentially a “gun-free” society, murderous maniacs will find a way to commit mass mayhem, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
“We keep hearing from the gun prohibition lobby that in Japan, there are no mass shootings because average citizens can’t own firearms,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb observed. “But the shocking attack at a Kyoto animation studio provides stark evidence that madmen intent on killing have other means of creating tragedies.
“So far,” he continued, “we have not heard any motive for this attack. But we do know this much: Mass killers aren’t impaired by laws that restrict firearms, so when anti-gun-rights extremists in the United States point to Japan as an example for this country to follow, Thursday’s horrific incident belies anything they have to say.”
Published reports say the suspect in this attack was screaming “You die!” as he doused the building with some type of flammable liquid and then set it on fire.
“Our thoughts and sympathy go out to the victims of this attack and their families,” Gottlieb said. “There is never a good excuse for the mass slaughter of innocent people, no matter what the means or methods. We can only hope that Japanese authorities focus on the person responsible for this atrocity, unlike in our country where people invariably try to attach blame and attack the rights of millions of their fellow citizens in an effort to press a political agenda.
“The blame for this attack, as with any crime involving firearms, stolen trucks or bombs rests solely with the perpetrator,” Gottlieb stated. “It would be wrong in this case, as it is wrong in any mass victim attack, to penalize millions of law-abiding citizens and erode their liberties when they had nothing at all to do with the outrage.”