Last week, our hearts were broken once more as an evil gunman took the lives of 18 innocent people in Lewiston, Maine .

While the locations of mass shootings vary, the dynamics that lead up to these senseless tragedies are very much the same. The faces and places are unique, but the fundamentals make the storyline all too predictable.

In Maine, the suspect was an Army reservist who threatened to “shoot up” the National Guard base where he was stationed. He complained about voices in his head and even spent two weeks in a mental health facility over the summer. But despite the threats, which constitute an arrestable offense in Maine, he was still allowed to roam the streets and develop a plot to massacre nearly two dozen innocent people.

Just as predictable is the emotional but fact-deprived response from the gun control lobby. From President Joe Biden calling for an “assault weapons” ban to radical leftists pushing for law-abiding citizens to be disarmed, these programmed rhetoric exercises are baseless at best.

To keep our family and loved ones safe from violence, we must crack down on criminals, who are the ones who commit crime. Similarly, to reduce the number of mass shootings in America dramatically, we must remove dangerous, threatening people, not guns, from our community before they harm someone.

This is simple logic, but political agendas and dogma often find a way to stifle common sense.

What the massacre in Maine also affirmed was the unyielding need for law-abiding citizens to be armed and disciplined. As the suspect traveled from location to location, no one returned fire. His diabolical plan was executed without interruption.

We have seen elsewhere that there is a direct correlation between the arrival time of law enforcement and the number of dead bodies on the scene. Maine was a reminder that sometimes you are on your own, and carrying a firearm could be the difference between life and death.

On the morning after the senseless act of violence rocked Lewiston, I reached out to my friend in Maine to share my condolences and offer any assistance needed. I asked if she was scared during the search for the gunman and if she had any advice for other women in her community.

“Am I scared? Not really,” said Andee Reardon, who is also a firearms and self-defense instructor at East Coast School of Safety. “The same tool that was used to terrify numerous towns in Maine is the same tool sitting next to me right now, ready to defend my home and my loved ones from harm. Now, more than ever, I refuse to be a victim, and this massacre is a sad but true reminder that you are your own first responder, so plan and act accordingly.”

As the days pass, we will learn more about the victims and their stories, the families they left behind, and the communities that are coming together to overcome the unspeakable. Law enforcement will also unearth more about the suspect, his motivations, the timeline that ended with this evil, deadly display of rage. We will hear from local leaders about efforts to keep their citizens safe as politicians in Washington and Augusta lob far-reaching legislative remedies that often undermine the Constitution while failing to alleviate any threat or danger.

It’s in these moments that Women for Gun Rights, a nationwide organization of mothers, daughters, and sisters committed to protecting the Second Amendment, will stand steadfast in pushing not for new legislation but for better education.

We will champion the enforcement of laws already on the books that take dangerous, threatening people out of our cities and towns.

We will urge ladies of all stripes to purchase a firearm and learn how to use it. Develop a safety plan and make sure your friends and loved ones do the same.

Finally, we will continue to travel this country in defense of the Second Amendment, which is a human right, that protects each one of us from harm, violence, and tyranny.

The reasoning and rationale behind a mass shooting will always be baffling. How can one person crave death and destruction without remorse? But the closing statement is always the same. Dangerous people need to be relocated and gun rights preserved. Then, and only then, can we make mass shootings a sickness of the past and not a pandemic of the future.

Dianna Muller is the founder of Women for Gun Rights. She is a retired law enforcement officer-turned-professional three-gun competitor who represented the U.S. in the IPSC Shotgun World Shoot, where she brought home individual silver and team gold medals.