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Virginia Beach Victim Couldn't Arm Herself Because of a City Policy. The Shooter Simply Ignored It.

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The day before Kate Nixon was killed by Dewayne Craddock in the country’s deadliest mass shooting this year, she spoke with her husband about taking a gun to her job for protection from Craddock but chose not to because of a city policy that prevents employees from bringing weapons to work.

According to The Virginian-Pilot, Kevin Martingayle, an attorney working with Jason Nixon, Kate Nixon’s husband, recounted the couple’s conversation Monday in an interview with WHRV radio’s “Hearsay with Cathy Lewis.”

The evening before the shooting, Kate Nixon was specifically discussing whether she should “take a pistol and hide it in her handbag,” Martingayle said. She was afraid for her safety because of Craddock and one other person.

However, because of the city policy, Kate Nixon went to work on May 31 without a weapon.

That same day, Craddock, a city public utilities engineer, ignored the city’s anti-weapon policy, took his gun to work and killed 12 people, including Kate Nixon.

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“The night before it happened they had that discussion,” Martingayle said, according to The Pilot. “There was obviously something big going on.”

Craddock had been acting oddly at work and had physical altercations prior to that day, The New York Times reported.

Whatever her reason, Kate Nixon was afraid to go to work. She wanted to protect herself. And her best option for protection would have been to either stay home or carry a firearm.

If she chose the former, she would have lost her job and she could not have stayed home indefinitely.

Do anti-gun policies like this do more harm than good?

In the latter case, she could have taken a firearm, but risked criminal prosecution or losing her job for violation of the policy.

It is anecdotal evidence for sure, but it illustrates how regulations meant to protect often are what strip citizens of their best means of protection.

A law-abiding Kate Nixon chose to obey the policy. A law-ignoring Craddock brought his weapon and murdered Nixon and her co-workers.

We can never predict what would have happened that day had Kate Nixon had had a gun. But if that policy were not in place, two things would have been different for sure.

First, one would suspect that Nixon, and possibly others, would have been armed, and therefore the outcome on May 31 could have been very different.

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Second, Craddock wouldn’t have had confidence that he was walking into a building full of unarmed targets. Surely, that would have given him pause or caused him to not commit his act altogether.

No policy can ever eliminate evil. But since we know evil is present, it makes the most sense to me to give the good people of America the best means with which to combat it.

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G.S. Hair is the former executive editor of The Western Journal.
G.S. Hair is the former executive editor of The Western Journal and vice president of digital content of Liftable Media.

After graduating law school from the Cecil C. Humphries School of Law, Mr. Hair spent a decade as an attorney practicing at the trial and appellate level in Arkansas and Tennessee. He represented clients in civil litigation, contractual disputes, criminal defense and domestic matters. He spent a significant amount of time representing indigent clients who could not afford private counsel in civil or criminal matters. A desire for justice and fairness was a driving force in Mr. Hair's philosophy of representation. Inspired by Christ’s role as an advocate on our behalf before God, he often represented clients who had no one else to fight on their behalf.

Mr. Hair has been a consultant for Republican political candidates and has crafted grassroots campaign strategies to help mobilize voters in staunchly Democrat regions of the Eastern United States.

In early 2015, he began writing for Conservative Tribune. After the site was acquired by Liftable Media, he shut down his law practice, moved to Arizona and transitioned into the position of site director. He then transitioned to vice president of content. In 2018, after Liftable Media folded all its brands into The Western Journal, he was named executive editor. His mission is to advance conservative principles and be a positive and truthful voice in the media.

He is married and has four children. He resides in Phoenix, Arizona.
Birthplace
South Carolina
Education
Homeschooled (and proud of it); B.A. Mississippi College; J.D. University Of Memphis
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Culture, Faith, Politics




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