Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The tragedy @ Tech
I've been watching the news footage of the shootings at Virginia Tech for the past 24 hours.
As sick as I am about something like that happening in my home state (my sister-in-law is also an alum of VT and my husband attended Roanoke College nearby) ... I'm nauseated by the press coverage.
I can't even imagine the media circus that has descended upon Blacksburg. Of course the media is pointing fingers about the police not locking down the campus after the 1st shooting and notifying the students, yadayada.
How about the question of: How does a 23 year old man decide to shoot 30+ people on a snowy spring morning? Mental illness, sociopathic behavior... all that aside. How does society fail a person so much that they do something so horrific like this?
I'm sure I'm opening a can of worms by mentioning it but Virginia's fairly liberal gun ownership laws don't help. Some facts to help you out... Is there a waiting period on gun sales in VA? NO. Is a license or permit required to buy a handgun? NO. Are there limitations on assualt weapons and magazines? NO. Are background checks required at gun shows? NO. Are there limitations on junk handguns (Saturday Nite Specials)? NO. May cities enact laws stronger than the state's? NO.
Growing up in the redneck round-up, I had to take gun/hunter safety as part of 7th grade health class (I beleive it was the marking period before hygiene... we didn't get sex ed until 10th grade). And I also grew up hearing the constant reminder: "We don't need stricter gun laws! The criminals will always have guns! If they restrict gun sales, then private citizens can't protect themselves!" or how about "Guns don't kill people! People kill people!"
It is a statistical fact that more people are injured and killed in gun accidents in the home than there are good samaritan citizens protecting themselves from the bad guys. I worked at a Walmart in college where several customers bought rifles/shotguns and proceeded to kill themselves shortly thereafter.... one of them in the woods right behind the store. Nope, guns aren't killing people. They're killing themselves in record numbers.
Sure, maybe people kill people but the access and ability to make rash decisions with no checks and balances also kills people. I'm not all that liberal. In fact, I'm very libertarian with much of my ideals. I really and truly don't believe in the government interfering with my private life. I firmly adhere to the idea that people should be self policing and should have the right to behave any way they please as long as it doesn't step on the rights of others. But I'm also not an anarchist and I don't think the right to bear arms should be a fundamental right.
As sick as I am about something like that happening in my home state (my sister-in-law is also an alum of VT and my husband attended Roanoke College nearby) ... I'm nauseated by the press coverage.
I can't even imagine the media circus that has descended upon Blacksburg. Of course the media is pointing fingers about the police not locking down the campus after the 1st shooting and notifying the students, yadayada.
How about the question of: How does a 23 year old man decide to shoot 30+ people on a snowy spring morning? Mental illness, sociopathic behavior... all that aside. How does society fail a person so much that they do something so horrific like this?
I'm sure I'm opening a can of worms by mentioning it but Virginia's fairly liberal gun ownership laws don't help. Some facts to help you out... Is there a waiting period on gun sales in VA? NO. Is a license or permit required to buy a handgun? NO. Are there limitations on assualt weapons and magazines? NO. Are background checks required at gun shows? NO. Are there limitations on junk handguns (Saturday Nite Specials)? NO. May cities enact laws stronger than the state's? NO.
Growing up in the redneck round-up, I had to take gun/hunter safety as part of 7th grade health class (I beleive it was the marking period before hygiene... we didn't get sex ed until 10th grade). And I also grew up hearing the constant reminder: "We don't need stricter gun laws! The criminals will always have guns! If they restrict gun sales, then private citizens can't protect themselves!" or how about "Guns don't kill people! People kill people!"
It is a statistical fact that more people are injured and killed in gun accidents in the home than there are good samaritan citizens protecting themselves from the bad guys. I worked at a Walmart in college where several customers bought rifles/shotguns and proceeded to kill themselves shortly thereafter.... one of them in the woods right behind the store. Nope, guns aren't killing people. They're killing themselves in record numbers.
Sure, maybe people kill people but the access and ability to make rash decisions with no checks and balances also kills people. I'm not all that liberal. In fact, I'm very libertarian with much of my ideals. I really and truly don't believe in the government interfering with my private life. I firmly adhere to the idea that people should be self policing and should have the right to behave any way they please as long as it doesn't step on the rights of others. But I'm also not an anarchist and I don't think the right to bear arms should be a fundamental right.
Labels: rant
// posted by Stephanie Cake @ 4/17/2007 09:43:00 AM 
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