Posted on 03/22/2005 10:53:46 AM PST by Dan from Michigan
Minnesota School Massacre Latest Example of the Human Toll of America's Love Affair with Guns
Shooter's Willingness to Commit Suicide Demonstrates Futility of Deterrence, Restricting Access to Firearms is the Only Way to Prevent Future Tragedies
Washington, D.C.—Yesterday's mass shooting at a Minnesota high school in which a lone shooter killed nine and wounded more than a dozen before taking his own life was the worst school shooting since the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, where two students killed 13 and wounded another 23 before taking their own lives.
In the wake of this most recent shooting, Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Policy Center (VPC) states, "America must face the fact that we have a love affair with guns that exacts a tremendous and unacceptable cost in human lives lost. Mass shootings like that at Red Lake High School are the future for America's children until policymakers decide it's time to enact real gun control. Other countries have found the solution to mass shootings, and it consists of severe restrictions on the availability of specific classes of firearms, such as handguns and assault weapons."
Noting that, as was the case at Columbine, the Minnesota high school shooter was prepared to die in order to perpetrate the shooting, Rand adds, "There is simply no way the criminal justice system or a series of security measures—such as the guard and metal detectors present at Red Lake High School—can prevent a shooter determined to kill and willing to die."
The shooting at Red Lake High School is the latest mass murder-suicide to occur in the United States and follows, by less than two weeks, a murder-suicide at a Wisconsin hotel that resulted in eight dead. These shootings, like the vast majority of such incidents, were perpetrated with a gun. A study conducted by the VPC in 2002 found that guns were used in 95 percent of all murder-suicides and estimated that at least 1,300 lives are lost each year to murder-suicide. (For a copy of the study, American Roulette: The Untold Story of Murder-Suicide in the United States, as well as gun violence information for Minnesota, please see www.vpc.org).
The security guard was unarmed. Had he been armed he might have been able to do his job!!!
Latest example of parents not disciplining their children and an out of control society that won't punish people of all ages for intentional murder.
"Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Policy Center (VPC) states, "America must face the fact that we have a love affair with guns that exacts a tremendous and unacceptable cost in human lives lost."
Unacceptable to her perhaps. The occasional sensational tragedy always overshadows the day-to-day losses we all accept. How many high school students were lost to traffic accidents over the last year, versus "high school shootings"? Life is simply not safe, end of story.
Guns, like it or not, have perfectly legitimate uses and restricting legitimate access to them (by adult citizens) isn't the answer.
"Mass shootings like that at Red Lake High School are the future for America's children until policymakers decide it's time to enact real gun control. Other countries have found the solution to mass shootings, and it consists of severe restrictions on the availability of specific classes of firearms, such as handguns and assault weapons."
These shootings are tragic, but they also affect an infestimal fraction of our schools and students. The cure would be worse than the disease.
'Rand adds, "There is simply no way the criminal justice system or a series of security measures—such as the guard and metal detectors present at Red Lake High School—can prevent a shooter determined to kill and willing to die."'
Um, wrong. The guard could have shot him and saved many or all of those victims. Too bad he didn't.
And for the brilliant statement of the day award:
"These shootings, like the vast majority of such incidents, were perpetrated with a gun."
Thank you for that scintillating insight. ;-)
On a more serious note, improvised explosives are fairly easy to concoct. If the maniac is willing to commit suicide, walking in with a backpack full of ANFO and broken glass isn't that hard to arrange.
A fact this opinion piece ignores is that this student was recognized as a problem long before this happened. If the right kind of intervention had taken place, this tragedy would have been averted.
...and the NRA/GOA stand like a deer in the headlights to the future of stricter gun control and confiscation.
As long as those individuals and organizations, in support of the Second Amendment, do not address the problem of mentally ill minors and adults shooting up the place, confiscation will be the ultimate result.
I'm a life member of the NRA and yearly of the GOA and ignoring these shootings won't make their political impact go away.
The guards in the school weren't armed, so they are basically worthless in a real situation.
Any place that is a gun-free zone is just asking for this type of violence.. It's not the gun, it is the lack of parental involvement/supervision (insert any similar word here) that is causing this type of violence.
Back in the 50's & 60's, guns were more plentiful AND accessible, but there were no school shootings...
I see the correlation, why don't the gun-grabbers ??
As opposed to rocket launchers, pnematic cannon, laser weapons, electromag weapons, all those common things that aren't gunpowder firearms or "guns". :-P
Crossbows. ;)
Or spitballs.
They're slipping, they forgot to mention the deaths at the hands of evil SUVs.
I really have to wonder if the anti gun crowd really believes they could ever effectively ban guns. A gun is an extremely simple mechanism. Even palestinian children make guns that fire real bullets.
I must have missed those "small minority" shootings, as opposed to the "vast majority" of shootings with a gun. :)
"It's the american love affair with death that causes these massacres. It's not the guns!"
THAT bears repeating. I wonder how many of these kids actually had gone out hunting and killed an animal before? I know I was taught the humble meaning of killing growing up hunting.
As opposed to ammonia and fertilizer.
No kidding. I made an M3 grease gun back in metal shop in high school (long, long ago in a galaxy far far away). Was smart enough to make it non-functional, though. Teacher was more than a little surprised to see my "class project".
If there would have been a second gun in the hands of a law-abiding citizen, there would've been no massacre.
Editorial oversight -- there will be a follow-up report.
IOW, It's the criminals, not the guns, stupid.
Yeah. Let's make anywhere the president goes, a gun-free zone. Then we can do away with the millions spent on presidential security.
The government must surrender their arms. This will prevent further suicide by cop.
What's love got to do with it?
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