Geraldo Rivera just interviewed an articulate and eloquent young man of but twenty-four years, Joe Zamudio, who was inside the Safeway to buy cigarettes when he heard the Pop! Pop! Pop! of gunfire outside. Zamudio, legally carrying a firearm himself, obviously a pistol, ran to the sound of the guns where others in the crowd were attempting to overpower the shooter. Zamudio, who appears to be a young man of some physical substance, assisted in that successful effort.

When asked by Geraldo if he thought of shooting the shooter, young Zamudio wisely replied that he did not feel that was the needed course of action since others were already involved in taking down the perpetrator. Zamudio specifically stated that he did not draw his weapon for fear of collateral damage to innocents in the chaotic situation. That is a particularly salient point that should be seized upon by those of us who advocate for the public's right to bear arms. The gun-hating left all too frequently tries to portray us as careless amateurs who have little regard for the consequences of our use of our weapons in a public setting. Their argument is that armed citizens will only contribute to the body count. Zamudio proved them wrong.

The second thought in my mind at this moment is the courage demonstrated by the people in the crowd who took this shooter down before he could commit more mayhem, Zamudio among them. Young Joe Zamudio didn't drop to the floor and seek safety when he heard those ominous Pop! Pop! Pops! which anyone familiar with firearms knows are out of place in a shopping mall parking lot. He ran to the sound of the guns. Without regard to his personal safety, he ran to the sound of the guns.

That points to a troubling question I think we all carry within us. Confronted with the scenario Zamudio faced, would we hit the floor seeking safety or would we have the courage to burst through those doors and face the devil? Geraldo correctly stated that such a decision is split-second and the decision one makes at that critical moment defines them forever. Joe Zamudio now knows the answer to that critical question about himself.

Most of us don't. We all like to think we would emulate Zamudio's courage and instincts, but would we really? As I just confessed to my wife, I don't know that critical truth about myself. I would hope that in similar circumstances, with my combat infantry experience, I would conduct myself with the courage and honor of young Zamudio and the others who took down this killer.

But like most of you I wonder...

Would I run to the sound of the guns?