Our nation was yet again hit by a high-profile tragedy, when a peaceful protest against law enforcement practices ended in horrific violence. A gunman with former ties to the military opened fire at police officers at a Dallas, Texas rally, resulting in the deaths of five officers. It’s alleged that the murderer was radicalized due to perceived racial injustices by law enforcement, and took violent action in response.

Although the mainstream media characterizes the shooting — the worst affecting peace officers since the September 11 terrorist attacks — as a racial issue, the reality is that the U.S. is in the grips of a death culture. In particular, urban communities celebrate this death culture through music, film, and other mediums. The message is unambiguously violent, designed to stoke fear and intimidation.

But as the Good Book states, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. In this context, one cannot celebrate and proliferate the death culture, yet cry foul when people react to that culture defensively.

Police officers are first and foremost human beings. They have families. They have jobs. They have obligations. Their situation already being stressful, promoting further stress to that ecosystem will almost always engender negative results. There is perhaps no greater fear among law enforcement members than having to police a neighborhood “living” the death culture ethos.

Sadly and tragically, the cries of racism continue to ring without full examination of the facts. We have become a reactionary society, where interracial violence is immediately labeled as racially motivated. The horror of Dallas is at least partly attributable to yellow journalism, while taking nothing away from the putrid motivations of a crazed individual.

Understandably, shares of publicly traded firearm companies have seen a big boost, both from Dallas as well as the Orlando terrorist attack. But are such gains really sustainable, or has a plateau been reached?

Will Rising Criminality Push All Gun Stocks Higher Chart

While some companies may continue to see further gains, I think it’s instructive to look at the chart for Sturm, Ruger & Company (NYSE:RGR). Ruger gapped up substantially last Friday, gaining 5% on the day. But this puts RGR’s price in line with a horizontal trend channel that has begun since early April of this year. The big worry, though, is that this trend line could easily become a future resistance barrier.

Just last month, the bears tested the resolve of RGR, bringing shares down below its long-term 200 day moving average. Although Ruger has climbed back above its 50 DMA, this is solely due to the reactionary push by the Dallas incident. Fundamentally, outside of any mass violence event, RGR may not have enough to continue making strides in the markets.

This is not an attack on the Second Amendment. Rather, I just don’t see gun stocks as being a surefire investment. The political backlash alone represents a major hurdle. The media, whether we like it or not, wields unholy leverage on the masses.

And if the herd decides to stampede, it’s often best to just not be there at all.