What would you do about Virginia Tech?

[John Kilduff]

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Hi Politics Forum,

The problem with the way the gun debate is conducted is that everyone seems to assume that there's a system that is best for every society. Switzerland is awash with guns and has a relatively low rate of crimes involving firearms. My country, Australia, has a total ban on semi-automatic rifles (and anything more powerful) and has a low ownership rate of firearms. I have never, in real life, seen a gun that was not attached to a police officer's belt. Australia has an extremely low rate of crimes involving firearms. So it should be obvious that there is more than one solution to the problem of gun crime.

Gun control works just great here, but I don't think it would work in the US. The genie is out of the bottle. What needs addressing in the US are social problems which lead to the high incidence of gun crime. Legalising abortion and decriminalising drugs would in my opinion both be more positive steps to reducing gun crime than anything that could be done with gun laws.

It's also important to realise that preventing events such as the Virginia massacre is only one facet of the fight against gun crime. The deaths of college students who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time is unquestionably more tragic than gangland drive-bys, but it is still the case that today's killings represent 30 amongst many thousands every year in the US.

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Good post.

I'll just add, that as tragic as the events like Virginia Tech and Columbine are, I'll bet there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning than there is of being the victim of a mass murderer gone crazy with a gun.