The Colt Illusion: Why a Pistol in Your Pocket Doesn’t Guarantee Safety

Collage by Olena Zelenina.

Whenever news breaks about a shooting or a terrorist attack in a peaceful city, a familiar wave rolls across social media: "If only bystanders had guns, this wouldn't have happened." This mantra of the "good guy with a gun" who stops evil in an instant sounds appealing, but it shatters against the harsh reality of the very first shot fired in a crowd.