Post#277 » by Knicker23 » Sat Dec 15, 2012 4:07 am
I don't buy the whole "background check" "psych exam" thing as a realistic way to stop this type of stuff from happening. People can become deranged at the flip of a switch. The idea that some little test, criminal record or having to wait 30 days will deter a psycho path from shooting up a theater or children is laughable. Humans are complex creatures, no test can give any worthy indication of what one may be capable of as far as i'm concerned....Let alone the fact that thats beside the point when your mom has guns in the house regardless....
The news can talk about the "signs of distress" "where he went wrong" "how it could have been mentally diagnosed" etc but I think that leading to any real change is slim. We can talk about the importance of family, morals, parents etc- everyone knows how that impacts a kid and the lack thereof. But I don't see that stopping most of the freaks out there if they do reach a certain point, and if guns remain as easily accessible as they are.
All the pro gun people love to follow that by saying "we should get rid of cars too then!" or "a man stabbed 22 children in China today, should we ban kitchen knifes?" -- interesting.. How many people died in that stabbing in China? (zero)... Do you think it's more realistic to limit the accessibility of guns or arm teachers, and every joe shmo on the street with a pistol to combat mass murder crazy people like this? Answer seems obvious.
And no, setting up extra security in elementary school, medal detectors, buzz-ins.. basically making it a prison, isn't the answer either. Because it's bigger than just school grounds. It's bigger than any one grounds, be it a mall, church, school, bank, project or w/e... The idea that it can be solved by putting a security guard here, or medal detectors there is silly. It requires a change in mindset, and it requires a change in the ease of anyone getting a gun.... Fact of the matter is, if some switch flipped in you and you wanted to shoot your school up, most would likely be able to go through the legal measures to get a weapon to do so.. all these "after the fact" measures like giving teachers guns or security guards is nice in theory, but not in reality. Some 1st grade teacher with a gun locked away in the back closet isn't going to do anything to stop this 10 second span thing from occurring...... And would probably lead to more damage than good.
There were more children killed today than in the Oklahoma City bombing -thats pretty insane to think about. Historically awful day that'll hopefully go down in infamy and be the catalyst for real change.