Not again

There's been another school shooting. This time it was a college in IL. At this point the details are sketchy. There were 5 killed with several others wounded. The shooter, of course, shot himself. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23171567/ is the link to the story.

These school shootings drive me crazy. This happened in rural IL, one of the least likely places that you'd expect for something like this to happen. First of all IL has some of the most draconian gun laws in the US. You need a permit just to buy ammo over the counter there. Secondly, as usual, it happened on a school campus where it's illegal to carry a gun in the first place. That sure didn't stop the shooter, though. Where were the police while this was going on?

This is the part where they're going to try to twist it to make it seem like this only happened because of our firearms laws. Our background check system isn't thorough enough. Anyone, anywhere, anytime can get any gun that they want because the streets are overflowing with them. Why would a normal person want a handgun or an assault rifle? You don't hunt with those. As long as your neighbor can buy guns you have every right to be deathly afraid of him. You never know when HE could be the next one to snap. They'll just use it as another reason that the common man needs big brother there to protect him.

Here's the part that they don't mention. With hundreds of millions of people in the US you have a fraction of a chance to be involved in a school shooting. Your more likely to get hit by a car while you're crossing the street or to drown in a swimming pool. It's easy to play on people's emotions with things like this. It's a scary thought to think that you or your kid might be the one in class when some psycho with a gun decides to shoot it up. After all, you couldn't carry a gun in a school to defend yourself even if you wanted to.

This leads us to another point. Gun free zones are only gun free until a criminal decides to shoot it up. Criminals and psychopaths don't care if they're not supposed to have a gun there. In fact it makes it an even more appealing target. They've got free reign to do whatever they please as long as they know that they'll be the only one with a gun.

Rather than creating more gun laws we need to let people defend themselves. Make it easier for people to get guns. When someone proves to society that they're not responsible enough to own or carry a gun then crack down on them hard. Even if the thought of an armed teacher or student doesn't discourage a school shooter maybe that teacher or student (I'm talking about older college students here.....not kids with guns) will be able to stop that school shooter before he can do the amount of damage that he intends to. Gun free zones and restrictive gun laws don't make me feel any safer. I don't know how these "feel good laws" could make any rational person feel good. Hopefully people start waking up and accepting responsibility for their personal safety rather than selling out their liberties to a more and more oppressive government because of heinous, frightening acts like this.

In other news this is what taking handouts from Uncle Sugar can get you http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23168160/ . A bunch of temporary trailers that FEMA provided after the recent tornadoes apparently had toxic levels of formaldehyde fumes. Now they're asking the people to move.

Comments

Rus said…
Psychology Today on why most people are bad at assessing risks.

Article here

Seems relevant.

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