License to Kill

So today I want to shed a little "lyte" on guns.  I started my morning by reading about another shooting spree.  This one was in California.  Luckily, only one person was killed, another 4 were wounded.  Well, I doubt the family of the one person killed are feeling all that lucky.

That brings the total to 58.  58 lives taken by gun violence since March 10.  If spinach or Tylenol had killed those people, there would be recalls, congressional hearings, and the like.  What is the response?  An ammunition shortage.  Yes, rather that question the wisdom of having nearly 1 gun for every US citizen, there appears to be run on ammo.  

I grew up with guns.  My dad kept an unloaded gun under every bed of our home.  We used to joke that if anyone broke in, they would poop their pants when they got upstairs and found 4 barrels of 4 shotguns pointed at them.  My father is a lifelong member of the NRA.  He used to hunt and we would eat what he shot.  I have always wanted to learn how to shot a gun, particularly a revolver, thinking it is a useful skill; like driving stick.

Since President Obama's election the paranoid have been stocking up on guns and ammo.  There is a persistent rumor that he is going to enact far-reaching gun control legislation.  It is laughable, since he has never spoken a word in favor of gun control, and has far bigger fish to fry right now.  But it fires up the base and stokes their delusions.  And that's the Republican playbook for victory at the polls.

But back to the month's carnage.  What is causing this outbreak?  Some think it is the economy.  I think that sometimes gun violence runs like a virus through our country.  Remember the horrifying series of high school shootings?  Or the spate of shootings at McDonald's and post offices?  And the thing is, every one of the shooters so far has had a permit.  What does this say about our current gun control laws?

The weird thing is that Canada has more guns per capita than we do.  But their citizens are not as tempted to use them on each other.  Are Canadians more civilized?  I doubt it, but maybe they get their violence fix in other ways, like on the hockey rink.

I don't have an answer for this, but I am sure of one thing:  loosening gun registration requirements is not the answer.  Neither is allowing people to pack heat in schools, parks, or at work.  Our country needs to have a serious discussion about guns.  I have to go through more stringent licensing requirements to drive a car.  A CD is tougher to get out if its packaging than an AK47 is to operate.  We are a technology driven society, why haven't we made guns that can't operate in anyone but the owner's hands?

But that wouldn't have made a difference to those 58 dead people, their killers lawfully purchased their weapons and permitted themselves.  We gave them a license to kill.