Saturday, February 16, 2008

Pop quiz on gun control

In my previous post, I jokingly suggested how safe I feel; given that Congress has so much time to spend on steroids in baseball but not other pressing issues we face. Humor and sarcasm aside, in some instances, I actually don't feel safe at all.

Just in case y'all haven't been following the news, there were two more shootings on college campuses this week. The first shooting -- which you've probably already heard about -- took place at Northern Illinois Univeristy and resulted in the deaths of six people (the gunman included). The second shooting -- not so well covered -- involved a student at Louisiana Technical College who killed two others before turning the gun on herself. Out of respect for all the victims, I won't go into a rant about the level of coverage each story received.

Instead, I'll admit that stories like this make me a little more nervous each day. Working at a university myself, I can appreciate just how easy these kind of attacks are to perpetrate. Sure, we've got a Department of Public Safety; but when you're in open and unsecured areas, you find yourself far more prone to this level of victimization. Frankly you never know when, where, and how these events will occur. Don't get me wrong: I fervently believe in praying to God for His grace and protection. But my faith won't necessarily stop a nutcase with a gun.

I don't presume to have any answers for this one. I doubt that using stories like this will ever be successful at providing a politcially and socially charged impetus to revisit (and possibly overhaul) the 2nd Amendment. Besides that, even if gun ownership is strictly prohibited to you and me, nutcases will still find a way to get their hands on one.

I guess all we can do at this point is pray for the victims, pray for ourselves, and stay alert.

-ACL

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Anonymous said...

Oddly enough Dre, I'm getting to the point where I stop relying on MSM for the news. I get more of it on your blog! Thanks for bringing this (especially about the school in Louisiana) to light.

Anonymous said...

I agree that these shootings won't cause people (i.e. gun loons like the NRA) to reconsider this whole 'bearing arms' thing, though they should. If anything, they should at least make it harder for people to access guns. Perhaps they should take Chris Rock's advice by charging $5000 a bullet.

Andre said...

The issue of gun control will forever be contentious. For that reason, it's highly unlikely that we'll see ever see the 2nd Ammendment repealed or redefined in any way.

Sometimes I wonder what the point is behind the notion of Constitutional ammendments if they're never done; or at least not with the frequency commensurate with the changes in the time.

Anonymous said...

If they don't plan on making an changes to gun control laws, there should at least be some provisions to protect the average citizen from screws who get their hands on firearms. As much as I hate to see them, the metal detectors at the school where I work give me a certain level of ease.

Anonymous said...

A few friends and I were talking about these stories over lunch. Oddly, some of my more liberal friends were actually supporting teachers being able to carry guns to school as protection. I'm not as gung-ho about that notion. But we all agreed that SOMETHING has to be done. Schools are no longer safe when a person can come into a lecture hall/classroom and just start firing on innocent kids.

The H.C. said...

Hey Dre,
Here's an interesting spin on these incidents; Are violent video games partially at fault? Lately I've been finding a lot of studies linking the two.
http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2000-2004/01AB.pdf

http://www.webmd.com/news/20000424/children-violence-video-games

Is it the gun or the mind behind the gun?

Anonymous said...

"Are violent video games partially at fault?"

No.

-n

heiresschild said...

i had heard the that the louisiana shooting was a teacher who killed the two students, then turned the gun on himself. scary for sure.

i think violent video games, t.v., movies all play a part in the violence in the world.

i'm not so sure allowing teachers to carry guns is the solution because there are some nut-case teachers also, like the LA shooting. at the end of 2006, during a class discussion, my professor got really heated with me. i believe if he had had a gun that day.....