Caleb Keeter is probably something of a darling in gun control circles these days. Not only is he a survivor of a horrific event like Las Vegas, but he also claims to have been a lifelong Second Amendment supporter who has seen the “error of his ways” or something.

With that in mind, I kind of expected to hear the story of a father of one of the children killed in the Newtown tragedy reaching out. When it happened, however, it wasn’t quite what I was thinking it would be.

When the devastating news of the mass shooting in Las Vegas broke last week, I plunged into the all too familiar darkness and sorrow of knowing that yet another awful, preventable tragedy was unfolding, impacting thousands of lives forever.

I read your comments, depicting your own horrifying experience in Las Vegas last week. Like most everyone who has read them, I found the terror you were describing very real and palpable.

I have been thinking about what you wrote and wanted to share some of my thoughts with you. Jackie happened upon your tweets very soon after you published them and read them aloud to me. You wrote: “I have been a proponent of the 2nd Amendment my entire life. Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was. …” Upon hearing this, the first thing I said to Jackie was, “Why does it have to be one or the other?” In other words, you should be able to maintain your allegiance to the Second Amendment and advocate for sensible solutions that will reduce the number of gun tragedies that tear families apart every day in this country.

The author, Mark Barden, lost his son at Sandy Hook, and as a parent myself I can’t imagine what that must be like. I still remember the heartbreak I felt watching the news that day. The fact that he acknowledges that the Second Amendment shouldn’t go away is a good thing, something I never expected.

So it’s with that in mind when I say that it really does have to be one or the other. The plain text of the Second Amendment makes it clear that “the people’s right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” That means any of what are called “sensible solutions” (a buzzword way to call for more gun control that would accomplish nothing) is contrary to what our Founding Fathers intended.

It’s one or the other because we know the truth. We know that “sensible” measures are codewords used by anti-gun crusaders who have been taught it’s a bad idea to admit they want all of the guns. But they do.

I’m sure Mr. Barden is sincere in his belief some kind of balance can be struck. However, it must be remembered that following Sandy Hook, the “sensible measures” proposed weren’t anything that would have prevented a man from murdering his mother, stealing her guns, and committing a massacre.

So no, the Second Amendment as your “sensible measures” can’t co-exist. They can’t co-exist because there will always be another tragedy, followed by another piece of our rights we have to give up, and we all know it.