People are killing People !

[kandrathe]

Removing civilian rights to own guns would do nothing but make it even easier for the criminals. Criminals will have access to guns whether they're legal or not. At least you can fight back or even prevent it from happening if you have a gun of your own.

If the focus is on the most expedient way to kill people and to conceal such a weapon, then I would admit that the best accessible tool is a handgun. A steak knife is a better weapon than a butter knife, and Mac 10 is a better weapon that a .38 special. Focusing on and making scarce the chosen tools of violence does not remove the violence and the socio and psychopathic behavior. When you see violence statistics for the US compared to other nations that show a 10x higher per capita violent crime rate, it is not the presence of weapons that makes people violent. The easier access to weapons may contribute to the success of the violence, but I don't have the relevant data to know that for certain. I don't believe that focusing on the tools will affect crime rates, except to change mass shootings into mass machete hackings, or mass arson murders.

For Jester, in response to: "You're right that letting people out of institutions for the insane has had a negative impact, but that's not a morality issue, but a problem with how we deal with insanity, which I agree is a problem. Alcohol abuse is also a serious problem leading to an inflated rate of violent crime, but then, it has always been a serious problem. I don't think it's getting worse. I'm also not terribly convinced of the power of moral crusades to reduce these problems. Prohibition leads to speakeasies, and education programs that emphasize abstaining from drugs and alcohol don't seem to have much impact. People like their vices, always have, and probably always will."

I agree that the mental health issues are not necessarily morality issues, other than the increasing trend of detachment or disassociation leading to socio or psychopathic behavior. Dylan Klebold stopped after shooting each victim to taunt them as they died. One girl who knelt before him was asked "Do you believe in God?" before he shot her. He was a remorseless killer that our society produced, and I don't believe this was a freak incident or that his parents necessarily did anything to create him. We have decided as a society to accept a certain level of insanity to be mainstreamed, and we are living with the consequences of that. As for substance abuse, and societies helplessness to affect change; I'm unwilling to merely surrender the cause. I too believe that regulation is not the answer, and the early and often education for everything has also been a failure and a big joke. To me, as you look at statistics, it should be very clear that intoxication and substance abuse is related to a very many social ills. Here are the statistics for the state where I live. In many ways I think the problem lies in the pandemic of purposelessness and the generations raised by the mantra of "If it feels good, do it." Ask most people, "Why are you here?" and the answer will be "To have fun." I'm not against fun mind you, but it is a pretty shallow reason to exist.