After the horrendous shooting spree at Virginia Tech yesterday, there has been/will be a steady wind of gun-control talk. Far be it from me not to blow a little wind myself.
One viewpoint is that an armed citizenry could prevent tragedies like the one yesterday- that is, if guns were not illegal in most public places, there no doubt would have been a responsible gun-owner in the building yesterday to put a stop to this murderous rampage. This is the position of gun-rights advocate and former CEO of the National Rifle Association Wayne LaPierre in his 1995 book. I’m confident that if more people carried guns, and if they could have legally carried them on campus, the Virginia Tech shooter would have been stopped much sooner. But the trade-off is that more guns in more hands and more places means more accidents, more crimes of passion, and more stupid decisions - an unacceptable solution, I think.
On the other extreme is the viewpoint that more, tougher gun control laws are needed, perhaps even an outright ban on the sale and ownership of guns. I don’t think it’s remotely possible to get rid of guns by passing laws, but I have to admit that the harder it is to get a gun, the less likely a tragically-ill English major would have obtained one. But this is a dangerous solution too. One of the most serious felonies you can commit these days is to carry a gun into a public place like a university classroom building, which means that if someone is deranged enough to do it, he is virtually guaranteed an overwhelming advantage over anyone he chooses to kill. If we’re going to ban guns from all public places, we have a duty to acknowledge and address this.
Maybe we can learn a lesson from the airlines. An army of armed passengers isn’t the answer. Total disarmament (plus surprise) brought us 9/11. But the possibility (remote though it may be) of an unidentified armed air marshall provides a measure of deterrent. Could we do the same in schools, stores, concert venues and the rest of society? I’m not thinking of paid security guards, but a few trained, responsible volunteers. On a college campus or in your kids’ school, it might be several teachers or administrators. In church, it would be (and only be) the preacher (no, I’m kidding about that last one). Several good friends of mine who are responsible gun-owners have carry-permits, but these DON’T allow them to carry guns into public places where they might be needed to prevent a tragedy like yesterday’s.
I’m hoping that my good friend and ultra-neo-con Josh Stevenson 
will weigh in on this, either here or over at his blog.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Marsha // Apr 17, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Ultra-neo-con’s mother will weigh in. I’m having the hardest time trying to figure out why they couldn’t have gotten the message out sooner about the shooting from 7:00 am to 9am. It makes me want to get my girls handguns. On most college campuses, there is no security to prevent anyone from carrying a gun whether your allowed to or not. There has got to be a way to prevent massacres from happening. I’m tired of our kids being vulnerable.
2 Sam Clark // Apr 17, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Gun control doesn’t stop terrorism. The guns used at Virginia Tech were illegal guns with their serial numbers filed off. Loosening gun control laws would probably only deter fist fights and arguments, not mass-murderers. The murderers would just choose adult foster care homes or pre-schools to attack. The terrible act is a symptom of something that man’s laws cannot abolish. How does someone get so lonely, so full of hate, and so desperate to find themselves in that place where evil satisfies more than beauty? I don’t think I can demonize any one thing but we really need to start looking at our everyday lives and question everything to see if it is ultimately helping people or hurting people. Getting to know every one of your neighbors well is the first step.
3 Kris10lprs // Apr 17, 2007 at 7:04 pm
There’s obviously no simple answers. You have some really good ideas and Sam’s comment is very thought provoking.
4 Bos // Apr 17, 2007 at 7:08 pm
“How does someone get so lonely, so full of hate, and so desperate to find themselves in that place where evil satisfies more than beauty?”
Excellent question, Sam.
Ultimately, I think two persons pointing guns at each other is failure at a fundamental level.
I see that the verse of the day is 1 Cor. 1:18, concerning the foolishness of the cross. What is “the foolishness of the cross” in relation to this horrible tragedy at VA Tech?
Great post! I found your blog via The Shelf.
5 jhill // Apr 26, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Wow… Good post by many! Gun control isn’t the answer, nor will it ever be… If it’s not a gun, it’s a knife, hand grenade, whatever. As far as the guns that were used… They weren’t illegal. Both were purchased by the shooter at the local gun store. The serial numbers were not filed off, that’s how they traced them to the Roanoke gun store. I do agree with Sam, and looking at our own lives. Everyone carrying a weapon is not the answer, nor is a few. There isn’t a black and white answer. This was a tragedy, simple as that. It was a horrendous act committed by a deranged individual! Our society in whole is WEAK! Everyone is taught pacifism from the earliest age! My question isn’t why this happened, it’s WHY DIDN’T ANYONE RIP THIS GUYS THROAT OUT the minute he started shooting????? Why did everyone cower in the corner and go to their graves a coward? This is OUR fault as a people, no one else’s.
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