10 More Die

[William Thornton]

Stats are nice. I asked earlier what the fix was. Got no answer.

George Will posed the question that if Obama was granted all of his gun control proposals which of the recent mass shootings would have been prevented? He then asserted that none of them would.

Who disputes this and what measures would have prevented these shootings?

My lib friends properly express dismay at such crimes, as do I. This is usually followed by predictable clamor for more laws. So, what laws would have prevented this latest mass killing?

[Sandy]

Well, first of all, elimination of the ability to buy guns off the table at a show or flea market would have prevented about a third of the most recent mass shootings. I believe a background check that would have denied weapons purchases to those with a legitimate DSM diagnosis would have stopped the Virginia Tech shooting, since he was seeing a counselor for a condition that would have prevented his purchase of a weapon under a recent Obama proposal. If I'm not mistaken, that would have stopped the Tucson shooter as well.

But there are some deep-seated issues that come about simply because guns are so prolific and so easily available. You're not interfering with the right to bear arms by making them more difficult to come by. Switzerland is frequently cited as an example of a country where there are just absolutely no restrictions on gun ownership and everyone has one. That's true, as far as it goes. But the Swiss have some laws related to firearms that the US gun lobby would shriek and cry holy horror if they were implemented. One is an accountability law. All guns are registered to their owner. If one of yours disappears, you better report it as quickly as you discover it is gone to the local police, because if someone commits a crime, and your gun is involved, you're going to be held accountable. Gun dealers are registered, and when a gun is sold, the transaction is recorded to make sure the seller followed the government's registration process, and checked out the buyer before making the sale. This guy in Oregon, though he purchased his arsenal legally here, would probably have been turned down by any gun dealer in Switzerland without a second glance. Granted, the mental stability is an easier issue to monitor in a country like Switzerland, where all citizens go through an extensive physical and mental examination at age 18, because they are all required to do regular military service, and that probably catches most of the crazies and nut jobs.

The alternative is to do as many other countries have done, and simply limit the number of guns available, with strict requirements on those who can own them. Sure, someone can become enraged and slash away with a knife, or just get violent, but it is clear that the ease of aquisition, and the sheer number of guns that are available in the US is a major factor in the frequency and high number of such incidents compared to just about any other country of similar background.

[Tim Bonney]

[Ed Pettibone]