Put Me On the Side of Gun Control
The shootings -- not just in CT, but really every time guns are used to kill innocent people -- are tragic, but moreso because they could be solvable but for political logistics. I get that owning guns is important to a lot of people, but nobody has the right to do do that. Let's talk about stopping this from ever happening again. If that means owning guns stops being a right and starts being a privilege... well, maybe that's not such a bad thing.
It's been suggested (in response to this post on Facebook, for example) that even without guns, people will be able to do large amounts of damage, like the Chinese man who stabbed 22 people, also in a classroom, today. I take that point; even someone who's not a knife virtuoso could drive a car into the building. Guns sure do make it a hell of a lot easier, though. Like I said, I'm not calling for a ban on guns or knives; when I say gun control I really mean control. You can say Big Brother if you want, but registering legal firearms seems reasonable to me. That would be a start: if carrying an unregistered firearm were an arrestable offense, the police might be able to actually enforce the law, and maybe even have some real ability to investigate and even prevent gun violence. I'm a layperson spitballing in reaction to a tragedy, so I'm sure it's not perfect, but it's something, which I see as the only option in response to preventable tragedy. Yet every time this happens we're hamstrung by paranoia and endless accusations of fascism, and nothing ever happens and the cycle of violence continues and innocent people die.
As for the knife guy, maybe a carry permit for knives larger than a Swiss Army knife are called for, as well.
It's been suggested (in response to this post on Facebook, for example) that even without guns, people will be able to do large amounts of damage, like the Chinese man who stabbed 22 people, also in a classroom, today. I take that point; even someone who's not a knife virtuoso could drive a car into the building. Guns sure do make it a hell of a lot easier, though. Like I said, I'm not calling for a ban on guns or knives; when I say gun control I really mean control. You can say Big Brother if you want, but registering legal firearms seems reasonable to me. That would be a start: if carrying an unregistered firearm were an arrestable offense, the police might be able to actually enforce the law, and maybe even have some real ability to investigate and even prevent gun violence. I'm a layperson spitballing in reaction to a tragedy, so I'm sure it's not perfect, but it's something, which I see as the only option in response to preventable tragedy. Yet every time this happens we're hamstrung by paranoia and endless accusations of fascism, and nothing ever happens and the cycle of violence continues and innocent people die.
As for the knife guy, maybe a carry permit for knives larger than a Swiss Army knife are called for, as well.