Tragedy Strikes

On April 16th tragedy struck Virginia Tech in the form of a deranged gunman who, for whatever reason, killed 32 innocents and himself. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims. In no way can we get even a slight sense of their loss. By the time you read this, more information will have become available as to the reasons for this senseless killing rampage. Unfortunately, there will also be those who call for more gun control. And, it is just that faction of our society that I wish to deal with here.

The initial reports indicate that the lone gunman was of Korean origin, in this country on a permanent visa. Further, the first two killings, a man and a woman in a dormitory, were reported to involve a domestic dispute. From there the killer went one half mile across campus were he proceeded to kill another 30 and wound 15.

What kind of gun control would have prevented this tragedy? Certainly the recent ban of all guns on the campus of Virginia Tech did not. Nor did the prohibition of foreign nationals possessing firearms. Where this killer got these arms, from whom and under what circumstances are questions that need answers. It is foolish indeed for any of us to entertain the notion, even for a moment, that our police, as good as they may be, can be everywhere at once. By their very nature police are reactive, responding to crimes after they occur and attempting to apprehend the perpetrator. Gone are the days of proactive policing when officers stopped and questioned suspicious people in areas of high crime. Our litigious society and unscrupulous attorneys have seen to that. No police officer, in his right state of sanity, would attempt to thwart crime before it happens. Much safer to handle the radio call, take the report and let the detectives do their job of catching the bad guy.

So we are left with the question, who protects us? The police no longer can for fear of suit and job loss. It is not the function of our military. Our elected officials? Nope. Neighbors maybe, under some circumstances, but don’t count on it. There is only one person you can count on to protect you and that person is you. It seems that our elected officials are bent on removing that right. There are thousands of laws on the books controlling guns. I doubt that anyone reading this can give me an example of a situation regarding firearm misuse that is not covered currently. Yet our legislators will soon be demanding more as a result of the Virginia Tech shootings. To answer my earlier question, what kind of law could have prevented this tragedy? A Right to Carry law. Realistically, I doubt that it would have prevented the first two killings although it may have. I am sure, however, that an armed person could have prevented the other thirty. Now before you go all bonkers about people carrying guns and the attendant hazards involved, Right to Carry permits require extensive training, background checks, periodic qualification and considerable commitment to the responsibility of such permits. There are over thirty states with Right to Carry laws and in each one crime has been reduced significantly.

Ultimately, we will get the type of society we demand, be it one where we live in fear of gangs, terrorists, or lawsuits from ambulance chasing attorneys, or one where we take back our streets by giving latitude back to our police in dealing with criminals and gangs. We need to allow our police to be pro-active as in the past. Our border guards need protection from frivolous criminal charges and when criminals are sent to jail, it should not be fun. Convicted criminals should not have more rights than honest citizens or for that matter, live better.

Finally, we need to be responsible for ourselves. We need to demand from our legislators that they correct the mistakes of the past and acknowledge that we have the right to own, carry, and protect ourselves with a firearm.