We need more gun control.
I would tend to agree. But without a complete hand gun ban, which is probably way too late anyway, I'm not really sure how this particular tragedy could have been prevented. From what I've seen so far, the perpetrator didn't have any particular form which would have raised a red flag.
We need more guns.
If only a student or a teacher had had a gun on campus, they might have stopped this madman.
Are you people CRAZY?? I really would rather not have attended university with a bunch of folks hopped up on NoDoze, cranky and dull from hangovers, raging with stress and hormones, lacking the wisdom and discretion of experience and carrying concealed weapons.
And the folks wanting a carry-on campus are generally the same ones who don't really want any kind of training or control over who gets to have a carry permit or not. So any untrained dimwit can whip out his weapon and accidentally shoot himself or others.
OK if some brave soul had engaged in shootout, maybe just maybe this madness might have been stopped on this occasion (and maybe not). But how many more gun deaths would have occurred over the years in ones or twos? Sad to say, as a society we've become so used to single murders from gun shot wounds that scarcely a hair would turn. After all, the first shootings were seen as some kind of business-as-usual domestic +1 innconcent by-stander.
Are we somehow less concerned with overall loss of life than we are about experiencing the shock of one campus killing?
And since most of these shootings seem to happen in high schools rather than universities - are you people advocating guns in the K-12 years?
7 comments:
Sadly the "signs" were there. But as in most cases, "what to do about it / them" becomes a hands off. I am a retired high school teacher and know that law and parents .... are not kind to "loners." Meaning, it´s not YOUR business! I´ve watched kids go alone ... and wondered WHEN the shell would break. TOUGH and UGLY!
I may address this issue later myself, but I'll go ahead and make my "controversial" point here. I'm mostly in agreement with you about more gun control, but I think the usual crop of folks pushing for this need to adjust their tactics.
I think the usual argument to justify more gun control in the U.S. -- that the 2nd Amendment was never meant to apply to individuals -- is bogus. All the evidence I've seen suggests that the founding fathers did mean individuals may keep and bear arms. Instead, I think gun control advocates need to get the courage to argue the 2nd Amendment is outdated and it should be repealed. I know that'll be a hard battle, but it seems the more appropriate argument to me.
Full disclosure: I read this argument in an oped recently, but I don't remember who/where.
To the anonymous commenter: I didn't mean the "signs" weren't there - just that this guy didn't seem to have any convictions or interactions with the system which would have prevented him from obtaining a hand gun. And although the price was terribly high, I'd rather not live in a society where we blacklist the "odd loner"
To St Caffeine - I'm not for a total overhaul of the 2nd amendment - (I don't think) - but dang it, it does say well-regulated so let's regulate the gun market well.
To anyone else - just so you know - I'm not for total ban of weapons, and I think the hand gun ban in the UK has gone way too far, but I think a little more regulating well would be a good thing.
VA...When you say, "And the folks wanting a carry-on campus are generally the same ones who don't really want any kind of training or control over who gets to have a carry permit or not. So any untrained dimwit can whip out his weapon and accidentally shoot himself or others." you don't indicate a true understanding the training one has to complete before receiving a permit to carry a handgun. In Tennessee there have been absolutely no reports of the things you fear.
I think you and I are pretty similar in our thinking on this issue, but you know how I love to quibble. To quote amendment 2, it's the militia that is to be "well regulated". The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
My point was that if someone is in favor of more stringent gun control laws, that wording seems to be a problem. You can parse the wording, but it seems a lot clearer than a lot of the implied rights in the Constitution.
No, I know that in TN the carry laws are tough - real tough - in fact so tough most people don't have a realistic shot of getting an official permit.
And St Caffeine - yeah, I know - uninfringed and all that. Maybe the 2nd amendment should be thrown out just for being, frankly, rather poorly written. I don't think that there's anything clear about the 2nd amendment.
Final swat at the deceased equine, VA. It's not that difficult to obtain a CCW permit in TN if you have a clean legal record and no reported mental illness.
TN is a "shall issue" state, meaning the state must issue you a permit if you meet the stated qualifications, they can't arbitrarily deny you a permit. The process can take up to 90 days after you complete classroom and range training.
Dire predictions were made by the anti-gun folks when the law was passed that TN would quickly become inundated with shootouts on every corner. It hasn't happened but that never stops the anti-gun forces from continuing to claim it will.
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