The born killer of Thousand Oaks
By Michael Moriarty
web posted November 12, 2018
The lone gunman of Thousand Oaks, California, seems to have dedicated his commendably Marine history to an increasingly desperate goal of becoming no more than the cold-bloodedly loneliest of America’s lonely mass killers.
Ian David Long murdered 12 perfect strangers in a bar, apparently for no other reason than to appease a rage within himself that ideologically necessitated his own suicide.
Ian David Long
His suicide now seems as inevitable as the crimes that necessitated it.
Had a profoundly courageous policeman not shown up in a remarkably short period of time, the death toll of 12 victims would have been even more horrifying.
The Tragically Brave Hero, Ron Helus
The price of such bravery?
The highest!
Meanwhile, the twelve other victims who also lost their lives?
Most of them were in their twenties or younger!
The killer himself was only 28.
It was basically death to his own generation!
Why?
He was a born, self-loathing killer!
I doubt if he even needed Marine training to do what he did.
He could have been a mildly disturbing teacher in a prep school and shown his true colors eventually.
Would they have caught him in time?
No.
As for creating gun laws that prevent private ownership?
No law of any kind would have stopped this homicidal maniac from possessing a firearm.
Those who think it would are actually aiding and abetting human helplessness.
Leave things as they are, and be thankful to law enforcement’s relatively recent decision to enter any room that contains gunfire.
Give the profoundest and most grateful thanks and tribute to men like Ron Helus!
Ian David Long met his profoundly better match with that law enforcement officer!!
The definition of both their eternal identities will be the zenith and nadir of Good and Evil.
They each defined their own eternities: Heaven and Hell.
No laws restraining ownership of firearms can change the fact that we are, each of us, in charge of our own destinies.
Accepting that fact is not a surrender but a liberation! 
Michael Moriarty is a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor who starred in the landmark television series Law and Order from 1990 to 1994. His recent film and TV credits include The Yellow Wallpaper, 12 Hours to Live, Santa Baby and Deadly Skies. Contact Michael at rainbowfamily2008@yahoo.com. He can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/@MGMoriarty.