Monday, 23 April 2007

Gun Control???

The thing that pisses me off ever since the Virginia Tech shootings is how much attention people put on gun control and the killer Cho guy.

I think the Cho guy was totally crazy. But who isolated him from the rest of the society? The society. No one seems to have paid him enough positive attention and to befriend him. And yes, you can say he was, according to his relatives, born that way. However, if he was born that way, he shouldn't be held completely responsible for the incident. The society had a part to play.

Next, gun control. I think the pawn shop "industry" should be government controlled from now on, and bills should be passed to force people to have licenses to keep and use guns. There should also be laws on forbidding people with mental illnesses from possessing guns.

However, I will not agree with anything about banning it all together. This is because there are a lot of people who have a fear of guns and weapons - it's just that guns can act "at a distance" which makes things much more scarier. This fear is not exactly justified, because we were never educated to like them and from the time when we were small, violence is discouraged.

Guns should not, but unfortunately is, related to crime and violence. These are the problems, not the guns. Guns are not drugs, they have a purpose other than to kill people. They can be for sport and leisure and many other things. Why do they keep relating it to guns? Won't Cho have killed plenty of people if he lodged molotov cocktails into classrooms and stabbed people with combat knives? Think about it! Guns are innocent, the people who use them for criminal purposes are the ones to blame.

I hope I haven't insulted anyone, but this is what I think should be the rational way to approach the problem of guns falling into the wrong hands.

Please Post your thoughts.

4 comments:

Samuel Poon said...

Yes, we must not forget why weapons ownership is garenteed by the United States Consitution; in those days a gun would have been just as useful as a knife. Of couse, the times have changed, but the reason is still the same: to protect the rights of a citizen.

It is only natural to blame someone after any tragedy occured. A "madman" with a gun is definitely going to cause concern, even if no-one was hurt. I agree that people these days make judgements too rash, too quickly, too soon, before adequete detail is given. We must also not forget the influences the media may have on him, as well as computer games.

Personally, I've got no problem with gun ownership (I've never seen a gun fire, have I?), even though I probably wouldn't have any.

Eugene said...

Yeah, I think the press is becomming much too big of an influence on people's thoughts. The purpose of the press is not to psychologically "make" its audience stand on the same side of opinion, but to inform and entertain the audience.

But if you were hurt by a firearm, would you think the same? It's natural to change your views after something like that.

If I were hit by a gun on the motive of revenge or murder, and I didn't have a firearm, I would probably change my view. However, if a firearm saved me from a violent assault, I may well feel grateful.

Also, in times of invasion (not civil war), citizens bearing firearms may well make the difference between being conquered or pushing the enemy out. I think some gun people (I say it in general- pawn shops,gun-owners,gunsmiths...) use that as an excuse to have guns. Personally, I think a matilia aiding the armed forces would be much stronger than simply the armed forces themselves, even though today's battlefield is much more complex than just rifles and grenades. However, who would want to invade the USA physically? Anyone who dares would be asking for trouble.

Samuel Poon said...

A militia would definitely aid any country in a war. Extra trained manpower is nearly always better. But then, if you want a militia, you can make sure that all guns are only kept at home and only handled by trained personel.

The list of victims of the shootout is usually numbered at 32 (just check the memorial services), but we musn't forget that Cho himself was a victim as well. There may eventually never be a "cause", and if there was it would be highly contrivertial. I have watched the video clips of him, those were shocking, to say the least. However, we must distinguish between what he thought was the cause and what actually was the cause.

Eugene said...

well, I agree with your last point. This guy was a mentally ill person and his cause wouldn't be the real one

Well, actually, the US already HAS a "mitilia"- the National Guard. These people spend their weekends training with guns and tanks and everything.
In China, the mitilia has all their weapons stored in bunkers in every region, to make sure none of it is abused.

Also, a bit of a sidetrack... look at this : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_USA

these guys claim to be "security contractors", but are actually mercenaries. This is what an overstretched military causes.