[Joe Brower]

One boy answered that he would like to see gun purchases restricted to those who had a license to buy guns.

I would have immediately asked the boy how this would have prevented the murderer from obtaining a weapon. When the kid immediately goes stupidly silent, then say, "It wouldn't".

A b!tch-slap, perhaps, but a gentle one, and necessary.

[demosthenes the elder]

"I would have immediately asked the boy how this would have prevented the murderer from obtaining a weapon. When the kid immediately goes stupidly silent, then say, "It wouldn't". A b!tch-slap, perhaps, but a gentle one, and necessary."

Yes, such was called for.
Rational debate is *supposed* to be governed by the cautious exploration of sound ideas, derived from deliberate thought, and grounded in verifiable fact. It is NOT supposed to be dominated by a slavish attention to the puerile feelings of infants - of whatever physical age.
So, yes, the boy needed a spanking, but the interviewer needs one far more desperately, and one not so gentle.