Take Away the Incentives for a Mass Killing

With the recent shootings that took the lives of 32 vibrant people, the debate has again turned to the gun control argument. Quite frankly, I'm timed of it. I come from a unique perspective when it comes to this issue. I am a western Democrat. That means that I am actually FOR gun ownership and have owned guns since it was legal for me to own them. It's part of the culture here in the west. Get over it.

This issue will be difficult to resolve when you have gun control proponents arguing that far more gun violence happens in homes with guns. Hello? Of course there is more gun violence, since the gun is there, available, and handy! The you-can-have-my-gun-when-you-pry-it-out-of-my-cold-dead-hand lobby says that we would all be better off if we were all packing heat. They cite the recent Trolley Square shootings where an off-duty police officer assisted when the shootings started while he and his family ate. Some use the argument that if the Virginia Tech students were armed, someone could have shot back and ended this tragedy quickly.

There are major flaws to that argument. The obvious one is when the police enter the scene; the gun-toting savior may be mistaken for the perpetrator and shot by the police by mistake. In the Trolley Square incident, the off-duty officer's wife (who is a dispatcher) called 911 and told the police her husband was armed, pursuing the suspect, and what he looked like and what he was wearing. This is unlikely to happen for an average civilian with a gun and good intentions. Then there would possibly be the case of accidental shootings due to negligence, and more heat-of-the-moment incidents when a careless soul pulls out a gun just to get their point across. Granted, the latter issues may be far-fetched with decent gun education.

I think that the real solution lies in the cause of a shooting rampage not in the gun argument. Why did the shooter do it? Could he have been stopped? These questions will haunt us as well. But let's take this one step further. If these shootings are meant to make a final statement, as it was meant at Columbine High School, then let's take away the platform. During this week we have been inundated with the name and picture of the shooter. He has become famous. So have the Columbine shooters, who the Virginia Tech gunman mentions in his writings and videos. Let's take the possibility of going out famously away so it becomes less of an option.

I can't remember one victim's name, but I will forever know who killed them. The same goes for Columbine High School. I think it's time to forever render these killers to the footnotes of history and celebrate the lives of their victims instead. And that is why none of the names of the killers will appear in my writings. Instead, let me honor the victims of this week's tragedy:

Ross Abdallah Alameddine
Christopher James Bishop
Brian Roy Bluhm
Ryan Christopher Clark
Austin Michelle Cloyd
Jocelyne Couture-Nowak
Kevin P. Granata
Matthew Gregory Gwaltney
Caitlin Millar Hammaren
Jeremy Michael Herbstritt
Rachael Elizabeth Hill
Emily Jane Hilscher
Jarrett Lee Lane
Matthew Joseph La Porte
Henry J. Lee
Liviu Librescu
G.V. Loganathan
Partahi Mamora Halomoan Lumbantoruan
Lauren Ashley McCain
Daniel Patrick O'Neil
Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz
Minal Hiralal Panchal
Daniel Alejandro Perez
Erin Nicole Peterson
Michael Steven Pohle, Jr.
Julia Kathleen Pryde
Mary Karen Read
Reema Joseph Samaha
Waleed Mohamed Shaalan
Leslie Geraldine Sherman
Maxine Shelly Turner
Nicole White

(I can't mention the survivors by name here because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations prohibiting the release of their names. But I wish them well in their recovery anyway). This information is from the Virginia Tech website. You can read more about the victims at Time.com.

I don't advocate censoring the news. That's unthinkable to a staunch supporter of the fourth estate like myself. I just wish they'd show a little responsibility towards those who are still alive and render the shooter into obscurity while they report what has happened to victims. We just need to adjust our priorities a bit.