MOre Guns - not fewer is the Answer to West Virginia Massacre from Planck's Constant

Annie Oakley
Hopkins & Allen Wild West Revolver
Photo: Brian Howell.

In the wake of the recent massacre by a lone, depraved psycho everyone is searching for a law enforcement solution to what they mistakenly assume is the problem.

The enactment of tougher gun control laws and more vigorous federal and local enforcement of existing gun control laws would have done nothing. This piece of shit loser obeyed all laws, federal, local, state, etc. A law imposing greater civil or criminal liability on parents for their children’s violent behavior would not have prevented this tragedy; no one is suggesting that his parents were negligent in his upbringing. Specialized courts for handling juveniles who are charged with weapons offenses would have been meaningless since he had no previous weapons offenses.

Indeed, had the University had a looser gun carry policy Cho might well have been stopped earlier in his rampage.

But some will cry and whine that if security personnel, teachers and administrators carried guns we'd be reduced to the violence of the Old West. OK, let's first debunk the notion that the Wild Wild West was violent:

Ludwig Von Mises Institute,
The American West: A Heritage of Peace
Thus, while the explanations for the violence changes over the decades, the assumption that violence was the general modus operandi of settlers on the Frontier remained in full force. Yet, since at least the 1970's, research has indicated that both camps may have been wrong about violence in the West.
...
Historian Richard Shenkman largely attributes this to the legacy of those reliably-violent Western films. "Many more people have died in Hollywood Westerns than ever died on the real Frontier…[i]n the real Dodge City, for example, there were just five killings in 1878, the most homicidal year in the little town's Frontier history: scarcely enough to sustain a typical two-hour movie."

That's right: Many more people have died in Hollywood Westerns than ever died in the rootin', tootin', gun-totin', gun-slingin',free-for-all, anyone-can-pack-a-gun wild wild west. Know why? Because law-abiding citizens could defend themselves. Today in America, it is estimated that 16% of murders are committed during the commission of another crime like robbery. I have no doubt that most murder and other crimes would nearly disappear if we had right-to-carry laws instead of strict gun control. Certainly the only people who have no problem getting guns in states like New York are the criminals.

The problem is not that the human dung Cho was carrying a gun; the problem is that those who should have been there to protect the students were not carrying a gun; the problem is, according to Texas Fred, "they just rolled over and took it, they didn’t even attempt to fight back, they just gave up and died."; the problem, according to Jeff Crouere is that

Universities also need to examine their procedures on how to treat troubled students. Seung-Hui was the poster child for anger, depression, even rage. According to his roommates, he rarely spoke, was rude and even hostile and on multiple occasions stalked female students. The campus police interrogated Seung-Hui after at least one of these episodes, but did nothing else. He took inappropriate cell phone pictures of other students during class and again nothing was done. Police believe that he probably was the one responsible for multiple bomb threats in recent weeks.

The problem is not guns. Schools need to address how to handle whackos. For example, the problem was not planes on 9/11, the problem is how to handle Muslim whackos.

Gates of Vienna,
The Murderous Repetitions of the Historically Ignorant
A bill that would have given college students and employees the right to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the General Assembly.

House Bill 1572 didn’t get through the House Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage, the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.

The bill was proposed by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, on behalf of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Gilbert was unavailable Monday and spokesman Gary Frink would not comment on the bill’s defeat other than to say the issue was dead for this General Assembly session.

Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was defeated. "I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.” [emphasis mine -D]

Angel at Woman Honor Thyself is right:

Woman Honor Thyself,
Forgiveness and Healing?..Not just YeT
Within hours of the massacre of more than 30 people at Virginia Tech University, the president of the university issued his first statement on the evil that had just engulfed the college campus and concluded with this:
"We’re making plans for a convocation tomorrow at noon in Cassell Coliseum for the university to come together to begin the healing process from this terrible tragedy.”

You’re Dead, I’m Healing

I believe that this early healing talk is both foolish and immoral.

A tip of the turban Hat Tip to Eternity Road for pointing me to this graphic.

Update/related:

Texas Fred's, 14 Aug 2008, Harrold school district to staff: Pack your pistols
When classes start Aug. 25 at the tiny Harrold school district, there will be one distinct difference from years prior — some of the teachers may have guns.

To deter and protect against school shootings, trustees have altered district policy to allow employees to carry concealed weapons if they have permits. The 110-student district lies 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth on the eastern end of Wilbarger County, near the Oklahoma border.

More than a dozen legislatures have considered making it legal to carry guns on college campuses, but experts and officials contacted by the Star-Telegram say the move is unprecedented in elementary or secondary schools.

Addendum: Oops. It is obviously not WEST Virginia - but just plain Virginia Tech. The Wild Wild West was on my mind when I wrote the title. I can't change the title now without messing up the links to this article.

Here's the real title: