Not too much time today so here are a few random thoughts on a topic always popular first thing on a Monday morning - mass murder! 'Over there' the usual suspects are howling for more stringent gun laws, or to be precise, anti-gun laws. The fact that Colorado already has fairly strict laws is, apparently, of no interest to those with a political/social axe to grind. Nor does the possibility occur to them that if just one man had been carrying a concealed weapon in that audience several lives might have been saved. Equally, if carrying weapons was commonplace even a nutter would think twice before trying to get his name into the record books given that he would be unlikely to live long enough to complete his task. Going to the other extreme, I doubt there is a nation in the world with stricter gun laws than Norway but somehow, holding up or quoting the statute concerned failed to stop Anders Breivik murdering 69 people with a gun - not counting the 8 he killed with a bomb.
Given the circs this is not an irony I particularly enjoy but it is worth reminding everyone that over twice as many people have been murdered in Chicago this month than were killed in Aurora. Funnily enough, or nauseating enough depending on your point of view, President Obama whose political home is Chicago did not feel the necessity of visiting the 'Windy City' to commisserate with those relatives, they were just left to ponder the truth of that old saying "same old same old". Illinois and Chicago have very tough anti-gun laws but as anyone with half a brain would quickly work out, such laws only apply to the law-abiding who then become helpless victims in the face of gun-toting criminals.
"...if just one man had been carrying a concealed weapon in that audience several lives might have been saved..."
Some old news people have forgotten:
"In December, 2009, a 24-year-old gunman named Matthew Murray opened fire on New Life's Colorado Springs facility, shooting four people and killing two. Jeanne Assam, then a 42-year-old volunteer security guard and ex-Minneapolis police officer, shot the gunman..."
So only two died then.
Posted by: Dom | Tuesday, 24 July 2012 at 14:44
Dom, many thanks for that quote, it has come in very useful in a discussion I am having on a 'Trot-lot' blog 'over your side'.
Posted by: David Duff | Tuesday, 24 July 2012 at 17:02