Yeah, I agree, but then it's upto us what to interpret of it. Remember that there is no explicit info. in the movie that suggest that the attack was NOT staged by the gun lobby.

Regarding ur second question, I think he pulls out her pen which accidentally got transferred to him when he bumped into her.

He picks up the pen from the floor.

I think what speaks against the gun lobby theory, is that the shooter didn't had a registered weapon.

@kylennep said:

...that the armed attack on Esme and the hero killing the psycho guy was just too convenient to not be staged by the pro-gun lobby?

I felt like they told the attacker to "just scare her" and then hired the "hero" to kill the attacker. Also, what is it that the "hero" guy pulls out of his pocket just moments before the assault?

I think it was pretty clear set up by gun lobby, too much of a coincidence to introduce their own hero just after they introduced their black survivor woman to get women support. They just didn't follow this story in the end.

He just picked up pen from floor she lost when they bumped into each other.