• A 1997 high school shooting in Pearl, Miss., was halted by the school's vice principal after he retrieved the Colt .45 he kept in his truck. • A 1998 middle school shooting ended when a man living next door heard gunfire and apprehended the shooter with his shotgun. • A 2002 terrorist attack at an Israeli school was quickly stopped by an armed teacher and a school guard. • A 2002 law school shooting in Grundy, Va., came to an abrupt conclusion when students carrying firearms confronted the shooter. • A 2007 mall shooting in Ogden, Utah, ended when an armed off-duty police officer intervened. • A 2009 workplace shooting in Houston, Texas, was halted by two coworkers who carried concealed handguns. • A 2012 church shooting in Aurora, Colo., was stopped by a member of the congregation carrying a gun. • At the recent mall shooting in Portland, Ore., the gunman took his own life minutes after being confronted by a shopper carrying a concealed weapon.

Meet on the level, leave on the square. Great words to live by

Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread. - Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.