Tuesday, April 17, 2007
(9:19 AM) | Stephen:
The Shootings
The only thing I could say about the shootings at Virginia Tech is that anyone who uses them to advance their gun agenda is a callous idiot. There's no need for any "new" gun control laws, at least as a result of this incident. There's not a gun control law of any type that will be able to stop someone who wants to use guns in this way, though more attention paid to enforcing the laws we already have might have made it more difficult for this particular gunman to acquire his weaponry. Even so, he seemed to be methodical and able to hide his true nature for some time. If it's true that he called in bomb scares last week to gauge the response, then we can safely assume that he would have been able to take whatever steps he needed in order to secure the guns.
At the same time, this incident hardly serves as a call for Virginia to pass a concealed-carry law. And if VA does pass such a law, this doesn't mean that Virginia Tech or any other school should have to change their "gun-free" status. Those who have been calling for exactly this to happen have apparently never been in a college dorm on a Friday night, have never had to mediate an argument between roommates. An environment of too much stress, too much freedom - for the adolescents in the dorms - and most likely too much booze is not one to stock with handguns.
Thirty-three people died yesterday. Each one left behind family and friends. At least 26 more were wounded. Their lives, the lives of their families and friends as well, are also changed forever. Those students who had to jump out of windows, who ran, who heard the shots, who escaped only because their class in that particular room meets in the afternoon instead of the morning, they will also be forever changed, forever affected by what happened. Literally thousands of people are experiencing the direct effects of the massacre, let alone those Americans who will allow the coverage to convince them that they - though they live in Seattle or Miami - are also touched directly by this.
And in spite of my years of education and experience, I have nothing I to say to this. No words of comfort, no words of defense for God. How small we are, how fragile.
At the same time, this incident hardly serves as a call for Virginia to pass a concealed-carry law. And if VA does pass such a law, this doesn't mean that Virginia Tech or any other school should have to change their "gun-free" status. Those who have been calling for exactly this to happen have apparently never been in a college dorm on a Friday night, have never had to mediate an argument between roommates. An environment of too much stress, too much freedom - for the adolescents in the dorms - and most likely too much booze is not one to stock with handguns.
Thirty-three people died yesterday. Each one left behind family and friends. At least 26 more were wounded. Their lives, the lives of their families and friends as well, are also changed forever. Those students who had to jump out of windows, who ran, who heard the shots, who escaped only because their class in that particular room meets in the afternoon instead of the morning, they will also be forever changed, forever affected by what happened. Literally thousands of people are experiencing the direct effects of the massacre, let alone those Americans who will allow the coverage to convince them that they - though they live in Seattle or Miami - are also touched directly by this.
And in spite of my years of education and experience, I have nothing I to say to this. No words of comfort, no words of defense for God. How small we are, how fragile.
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