It's been over a month since I posted and I'm bored so I thought I would post something. Trouble is a lot of my posts on any blog or board starts like this because I can't think of anything till after I start typing. In this case as I was writing that first sentence I thought about the shooting at Virgina Tech.
But what is there to say? This kid was obviously disturbed and needed help and no one followed through and those closest to him be they family or room mate didn't pay attention and didn't reach out to him. We've discussed it a little in one of my classes. It was a politics class so we mostly focused on gun control and the school's policy and ability to protect the students. When you look at the level of security on our campus it is not unbelievable that it could happen here as well. I always like to think that if someone walked into a room I was in with a gun I would jump them. Stop them. Get the gun from them. Anything. I do always carry my pocket knife. It's a lock blade that opens very fast if you know how. I don't think of it much as a weapon as it is a tool. Not to mention something to play with when I'm bored (don't play with knives kids). And if it came to it I imagine I would put that blade into someone if I had to stop them from killing someone else. Or at the very least use it to knock them out (a piece of metal in your hand greatly increases the effect of a punch. Try putting a roll of quarters in your fist then punch something.) But anyway. Thats something you never know what you would do if you were faced with that. Gun's can be a very scary thing. I know I would never want to be on the wrong end of one. A humans reaction is to duck run or hide. It's fight or flight and it's hard to fight a piece of lead moving in excess of 1000 ft/s. Thats why the people in the armed services are very different from most of us. Their training is made to break down their psyche and put it back together in a way that they are confident and do not fear a gun but rather turn and face it.
Would I want more people to carry guns so that if someone pulled out a gun in public they would be shot before it got out of hand? NO! I give people a lot of trust. But rarely with my life. If your carrying a gun your either trying to protect yourself or intend to use it illegally. I would prefer the people who intend on breaking the law not be allowed to have one and if that means less guns for us law abiding citizens so be it. It sounds like something in a movie but what if some nut pulled out a gun someone shot him/her then someone runs over and shoots them because they don't know what was going on? Now innocent people that some might call a hero is dead. Possession of illegal firearms is a crime fighting tool as well. Maybe all you were doing was speeding. But the cop sees a gun in your back seat finds out it's illegal and now he can arrest that person. There's a good chance that that just prevented a crime or found someone who is still on the loose for previous crimes. And finally in cases like this you could have given everyone one a gun and the kid still would have done it. He would probably just get bigger guns. Walk into a room with a shotgun and just start peppering the room. Sure maybe some student would have taken him down but it didn't stop him from doing it.
I say you want to carry a gun. Your going to have to carry it on your hip for all to see. Or it has to be a rifle. Strap that across your back. At least then I know your a potentially dangerous person. Or we do it like England and if you want to own a gun keep it at a shooting or hunting club. If its just a hobby then keep it someplace safe where no kids can get it or where it can be stole by some criminal who breaks into your house to get some drugs and cash and sees your gun there. In my opinion if I came home to someone stealing my TV I think I would rather them take it then have to carry the grief of taking a life over something material.
But what is there to say? This kid was obviously disturbed and needed help and no one followed through and those closest to him be they family or room mate didn't pay attention and didn't reach out to him. We've discussed it a little in one of my classes. It was a politics class so we mostly focused on gun control and the school's policy and ability to protect the students. When you look at the level of security on our campus it is not unbelievable that it could happen here as well. I always like to think that if someone walked into a room I was in with a gun I would jump them. Stop them. Get the gun from them. Anything. I do always carry my pocket knife. It's a lock blade that opens very fast if you know how. I don't think of it much as a weapon as it is a tool. Not to mention something to play with when I'm bored (don't play with knives kids). And if it came to it I imagine I would put that blade into someone if I had to stop them from killing someone else. Or at the very least use it to knock them out (a piece of metal in your hand greatly increases the effect of a punch. Try putting a roll of quarters in your fist then punch something.) But anyway. Thats something you never know what you would do if you were faced with that. Gun's can be a very scary thing. I know I would never want to be on the wrong end of one. A humans reaction is to duck run or hide. It's fight or flight and it's hard to fight a piece of lead moving in excess of 1000 ft/s. Thats why the people in the armed services are very different from most of us. Their training is made to break down their psyche and put it back together in a way that they are confident and do not fear a gun but rather turn and face it.
Would I want more people to carry guns so that if someone pulled out a gun in public they would be shot before it got out of hand? NO! I give people a lot of trust. But rarely with my life. If your carrying a gun your either trying to protect yourself or intend to use it illegally. I would prefer the people who intend on breaking the law not be allowed to have one and if that means less guns for us law abiding citizens so be it. It sounds like something in a movie but what if some nut pulled out a gun someone shot him/her then someone runs over and shoots them because they don't know what was going on? Now innocent people that some might call a hero is dead. Possession of illegal firearms is a crime fighting tool as well. Maybe all you were doing was speeding. But the cop sees a gun in your back seat finds out it's illegal and now he can arrest that person. There's a good chance that that just prevented a crime or found someone who is still on the loose for previous crimes. And finally in cases like this you could have given everyone one a gun and the kid still would have done it. He would probably just get bigger guns. Walk into a room with a shotgun and just start peppering the room. Sure maybe some student would have taken him down but it didn't stop him from doing it.
I say you want to carry a gun. Your going to have to carry it on your hip for all to see. Or it has to be a rifle. Strap that across your back. At least then I know your a potentially dangerous person. Or we do it like England and if you want to own a gun keep it at a shooting or hunting club. If its just a hobby then keep it someplace safe where no kids can get it or where it can be stole by some criminal who breaks into your house to get some drugs and cash and sees your gun there. In my opinion if I came home to someone stealing my TV I think I would rather them take it then have to carry the grief of taking a life over something material.