The tragedy of yesterday was just that, a tragedy. The unfortunate thing is that a person, who by current news is here on a Visa, got access to a few guns and killed a lot of people. This has re-sparked the debate over gun control. Those among us who believe that if there were no guns allowed in society this would not have happened seem to forget that there are no guns allowed on the campus of VT. That rule did not stop a crazed individual from exacting terror among those who were unable to protect themselves. News accounts also indicate that the campus security does not carry weapons.
Many news organizations from around the world are chiming in and blaming what happened on the lack of gun control in America. These countries ignore the fact that even though they have strict gun control laws, they have gun crimes and murders. That is, all but Germany:
“Now we will probably begin discussing the overly lax gun laws in the United States. There, buying a machine gun is often easier than getting a driver’s license. And a new ban on violent games and killer videos will also be put back on the agenda. But in the end, nothing is likely to happen. And the next killer already lives somewhere among us. But we have little reason to point an accusing finger at the Americans. Despite strict gun legislation, we (in Germany) have experienced the school shootings in Erfurt and Emsdetten. We have to consider the problems in our society. And we have to take care of our fellow humans.” Spiegel Online
Can someone point out the logic in saying that overly lax gun laws are to blame and then pointing out that STRICT gun control laws in Germany have not stopped gun attacks in two schools there? At least Germany recognizes that gun control does not work and that is because criminals do not obey the law. Once again, the guy who killed everyone yesterday was not allowed to have a gun on campus. Rules are only effective when people obey them. The Germans have it wrong about buying a machine gun but that is because of what they see in the movies and what they are told. Just as I pointed out in my post about the German Army and its idea of blacks in America, the Germans and most other countries only know us by what they see in the movies and read in the news.
I had some soldiers from England here and they were worried about coming because everyone in America walks around with a gun and people are shot all the time. This is what they had been told. They were surprised that people walking down the street did not have guns strapped on their hips. When I went there I was told by one guy that the UK outlawed guns and everyone had to turn them in some years ago. He told me that people believed it stopped the gun violence. I was walking out of the subway and there was a huge poster that read “Stop the Gun Violence.” So I said the the guy with me, if you are not allowed to own guns what gun violence do you need to stop. He said that just because they were not allowed to own guns it did not mean people did not get shot. He said, people get shot all the time in Manchester and I asked how that could be if guns were outlawed. He told me that the law did not stop criminals from getting guns.
This is just a cold hard fact. Responsible people who own guns do not go around shooting people. We have nearly 50 thousand deaths a year from vehicle accidents but we do not demand they take cars away. We demand that people who use cars irresponsibly be denied the right to drive. Maryland has extremely tough gun laws, especially in Baltimore, and yet nearly 300 people are killed there, by gun, each year. In the rural counties where legal gun ownership is more common, there are hardly any gun deaths. If gun laws work, Snoop Dogg would not be arrested over and over for ILLEGALLY carrying a gun. He would not even have a gun. If gun laws worked, the guy who shot and killed the off duty cop in Baltimore would not have had a gun because of his two previous gun arrests.
Laws only work for people who obey them. It is illegal to rob a bank but people rob banks. It is illegal to use cocaine (and it has no use except very limited medical) and yet people use cocaine all the time. That is outlawed so where are they getting it? Same place criminals get guns and will continue to get guns regardless of the number of laws making it illegal.
What happened at VT was a horrible tragedy and my heart goes out to he families and friends of the victims but let us focus on the real issue here. It was not a firearm that committed a crime there. It was a person determined to kill people. If guns were not available, he would have found another method. Put the blame where it belongs, on the individual. I know that is hard considering the liberal idea that no one is responsible for anything (except George Bush).
God Bless VT and those affected by this CRIMINAL act.