Back to the Gun Control Discussion

With the terrible events in Colorado as a backdrop, the issue of gun control is coming to the fore once again. The usual group that pushes for further controls on guns is out in force arguing for their position. In some variation or another they are all saying this: seventy people were killed or wounded in Aurora, so we need to restrict guns. The speeches do not seem much different from those that came after the shootings at Virginia Tech or even those that came after the killings from the bell tower in Texas many decades ago. The response has not come forth yet, but I assume that it too will repeat the same positions as in the past.

So who is correct? Would stricter gun controls have prevented the Aurora killings? Probably not is the answer. The shooter in Colorado had a clean record; his worst previous "crime" had been a traffic ticket. He was a graduate student living in an area filled with hunters. He bought all of his weapons legally, complying with every registration, preapproval and waiting period that was relevant. He could easily have complied with tougher laws covering acquisition of firearms. Only a total ban on guns would have stopped him. Of course, such a ban cannot be imposed without a constitutional amendment.

Even where there are strict gun control laws, there are crazy people who go on killing sprees. Just look at last year's massacre in Norway. A seemingly normal guy planned out the killings and then shot scores of teens. The gun laws did nothing to stop the murders.

You see, that is the problem. Gun laws, in theory, sound great. The problem, however, is that gun laws are based upon the premise that people are sane, and that is just not always the case. The shooter in Aurora seems to have had a psychotic break. So far, no one knows why, but gun laws could not have prevented the carnage.

Gun laws make sense to the extent that they require background checks on purchasers and short waiting periods for purchase. People with criminal records should not be able to buy guns. People who are incensed about some event need to have a cooling off period of a few days before they can get access to a firearm. That type of restriction helps save lives, but it is not something that will prevent the crazies from carrying out the next massacre.