When Do We Start Rethinking Society's Ills

Gunman Kills 30 on Virginia Tech Campus April 16, 2007 - 2:57pm By SUE LINDSEY Associated Press Writer BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, in a classroom across campus Monday, killing at least 30 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history, government officials told The Associated Press. The gunman was killed, bringing the death toll to 31. (WTOP)

My thoughts are with the families of those slain in Blacksburg today. I cannot imagine your grief nor do I even hope that I have to endure it.

This sort of thing brings out the pro/anti-gun lobby and they keep arguing over the same point. If there was stricter gun control this would not have happened/if you take away the guns, only the criminals would have them.

I did not grow up in a society where the firearm was a part of the social fabric. Canada does not have a second amendment giving its citizens the right to bear arms. In fact, to get a gun of any kind, it requires lots of paperwork (or did) and lots of background investigation. And while there are those that argue the crime rate is just as high (or higher), there are very few mass-murders the like of what we have seen today or at all in the United States.

Why is that?

The truth of the matter is quite simple, at least to my mind. Making it harder for people to get firearms is a good thing. In almost every one of these situations, the people doing the shooting were no more a criminal than I was. Are there other ways to kill lots of people? Sure, but I cannot think of many with the skills needed to use them effectively. The gun is "the great equalizer." It does not take any skill to use and makes one hell of a mess, quickly, efficiently and cheaply. The gun was only created to kill. Yes, it is an inanimate tool, but it has no other purpose. To hang "self-defense" on it is only a thin veil of justice that it does not deserve.