Jim Gearhart, like a lot of us, has been having trouble wrapping his head around the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas — the largest the U.S. has ever seen.

Why would a person do that? How could someone bring himself to murder so many people — with no apparent ideology or mission we've been able to ascertain? And what can we possibly do about it?

Jim thought Democratic Sen. Diane Feinstein was being entirely reasonable when she said no gun law would have stopped that shooter. But he's also been thinking about the reasons people are so protective of their gun rights.

And here's what it comes down to: People don't trust the government. They don't trust it to protect them from invaders. They don't trust it not to fall to an insurrection from within. They don't trust it to keep them safe in race riots, or in an economic collapse. They want to keep their families safe, and they want guns to protect them.

And any of that could happen, Jim says in latest installment of the Jim Gearhart Show podcast, available here as well on iTunes and Google Play.

"There is such a prospect. It's realistic. It's not just a dream," Jim says.

So what's the solution? Jim searches for one in this installment.

"You can feel it in the air," Jim says. "Something is going to happen."

That's it's just part of what Jim takes on in the latest installment of his podcast. Check out the full episode below to hear the rest. Email Jim at Jim@NJ1015.com.

The Jim Gearhart Podcast is available every week on New Jersey 101.5 and in the New Jersey 101.5 app. You can also subscribe with your favorite podcasting app for iPhones, Android devices or your computer:

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— Townsquare Media staff

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