On Gun Control

Yesterday, a man in Western New York walked into an immigration assistance center with two handguns and proceeded to kill 13 people and himself in what is somewhat sadly becoming a trend in large scale shootings (NY Times article here).

This blog was created to discuss issues as they came up in the media, and unfortunately, gun violence is the first impetus for this blog. The tragic event yesterday in New York will undoubtedly open up the issue of gun control once more.

Gun violence is usually an emotional topic to talk about. It is sudden, it is dramatic, and it is always devastating to the people involved. On the other hand, there are many people who believe that owning a weapon for self defense, pleasure, or sport is a fundamental right given to us (in the United States, sorry Europeans).

So what do we do about gun violence? Now I frame gun control in terms of gun violence because that is ultimately what gun control debate revolves around.

I believe (although I may be wrong) that even the most ardent gun control advocates know that even an absolute ban on firearms (as in shred the Second Amendment) would not fix all the gun violence problems we have. The supply is simply too large in the United States and well entrenched. Furthermore, people willing to commit a crime are rarely deterred by the law. A few weeks ago, a German high schooler bypassed Germany's very strict gun control laws and killed 17 students in another brutal rampage. Clearly, complete bans on gun control is an unreasonable demand and a burden to the vast majority of law abiding citizenry that use guns.

On the other hand, 2nd Amendment advocates on the far right believe that pretty much every firearm should be available to a private citizen since that is their perceived right. As much as I enjoy target shooting every time I go home, it's tough to find a legitimate reason to allow someone to own a .50 caliber Barrett Rifle. Yet every time I go down to my local firing range back home, the employees there will swear that being unable to own one of those weapons is the most unjust aspect of their lives.

Clearly, there will never be a perfect answer. This country has wrestled with these issues for decades now, and there will always be more tragedies and crime to add to the debate. The real question, as always, is where is the common ground, and how can we frame this discussion so that it leads to appropriate solutions.

What do you think?

Update: As I wrote this, Philadelphia local news was covering a reported police shooting. They just confirmed that two officers were shot and killed and a third wounded in what started out as a domestic disturbance call.