One must wonder what on earth possessed the Virginian gunman to go on a killing rampage even after killing his ex-girlfriend and a resident adviser earlier on.
But I'm not going to go on about the what ifs, the whys or the hows. We might never know the reasons and motives of the killer...at best one can only speculate.
Instead what baffles me is the tendency of these things to happen in the good ol' US of A.
Seriously..we hardly hear of killing rampages going on in, say..France or the UK. Sure we had that hostage taking of a bus filled with school kids in Manila a few weeks back but not as horrific as the last killing rampage which took place in that Amish village last year, was it?
So why the US?
One possible explanation could be the lack of tough regulations on gun possession. Accordingly "Virginia's gun laws are some of the weakest state laws (in the country)". With few restrictions on the purchase of guns especially through gun shows and the absence of any requirement for licensing or training, it's not surprising for the gunman to obtain the gun without being subjected to such rigourous regulations and probably background checks.
Even if these laws were to be tightened, there will always be loopholes of getting around. There is no such thing as a catch-all provision or clause.
And let's not forget the voices of the stakeholders. It's a sure bet that those with an interest ...and it's usually a huge interest...will voice out their opposition to any changes and ensure that they will benefit from the changes.
In other words, it's a lose-lose situation.
Yes it's a tragedy which will be remembered alongside the 1999 Columbine shooting as well as many others that have followed since. But tragedies such as these can be averted or avoided if everyone involved will stop bickering about losing so-and-so benefits, instead focusing more on protecting society from such wasteful carnage and unbearable loss.
'nuff said folks
1 comment:
Point taken! :)
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