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An editorial by Marcy Jankovich that originally appeared in the Detroit News on August 6
Last weekend, a man walked into a Walmart in Traverse City and stabbed 11 innocent people in a random, brutal act of violence. The scene was horrifying—but thankfully, everyone survived.
The media covered the initial shock. The politicians issued generic statements. But something’s missing—something that always seems to go missing when the narrative doesn’t fit: no one is talking about “knife control.” Why is that?
A knife was used to commit mass violence—just as we’ve seen before with hammers, axes, and even cars. These are real tragedies, carried out without a single bullet fired. And yet, no one is proposing sweeping legislation to regulate or ban knives or to require background checks before buying a truck.
Because deep down, we all know the glaring truth: it’s not the object that commits the violence; it’s the person. But the moment a firearm is involved, the story changes. The headlines explode. Politicians scramble to propose more restrictions. And the blame shifts from the criminal to the tool they used.
This double standard isn’t just frustrating; it’s dangerous. It distracts from real solutions, and it deliberately ignores the fact that, in Traverse City, a law-abiding citizen with a firearm stopped the attack before more people were stabbed.
When police arrived at the scene, the alleged attacker had already been restrained, held at gunpoint by a shopper.
That’s right: a proverbial “good guy” with a gun stopped a “bad guy” with a knife. It’s textbook self-defense and the outcome we hope for in moments of crisis.
This is the very reason Women for Gun Rights exists. We believe the Second Amendment protects not just the right to “bear arms”—but the right to defend yourself and others when no one else can. At the end of the day, despite the best efforts of law enforcement, you are your own first responder. Your life, and the lives of others, is your responsibility.
This incident also highlights another uncomfortable pattern that truly undermines the efficacy of gun control. Authorities said the suspect had a history of “assaultive incidents.” In other words, they knew he was dangerous and capable of violence. While shocking to hear, this isn’t an isolated occurrence. Over and over, we’ve seen mass casualty events carried out by individuals who were already on law enforcement’s radar. The signs were there. The threats had been made. Reports were filed. But the system didn’t act.
And yet, every time a tragedy occurs, the focus shifts—not to the failures of intervention, but to restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens. Groups like Moms Demand Action and anti-gun politicians push for Red Flag laws, assault weapon bans, and magazine limits, as if taking tools away from the responsible will somehow stop the reckless and violent.
But Traverse City shows the flaw in that logic.
The attacker didn’t use a gun. He used a knife. Would a Red Flag law have prevented it? Would a gun ban have saved those people? Of course not. The answer isn't to criminalize gun ownership—it's to crack down on actual criminals, take real threats seriously, and enforce the laws we already have against people who have proven themselves violent and dangerous.
This is an important moment in Michigan and across the United States. It’s time to stop pretending the tool is the problem and start focusing on the truth: dangerous people are the threat. And guns, in the hands of the right people, save lives.
Marcy Jankovich is the Michigan State Director for Women for Gun Rights, an MCRGO Instructor, and an MCRGO Life Member.
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