What's the difference between a crazy man and a killer?
The latter owns a gun.
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(Note: Printed in the Letters to the Editor section of the April 24, 2007 edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
There's a line members of gun clubs often use to defend gun ownership: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Don't blame the gun, blame the guy pulling the trigger.
So when Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui kills 32 people with a legally-obtained 9mm Glock pistol, don't blame the weapon, or the laws that allow him to buy such weapons, or the lawmakers who drafted these laws in the first place––no, blame the obviously psychotic 23-year old.
The trouble with this logic is that a mentally unstable person wouldn't have been able to take these many lives with a swiss knife, or a machete, or even a chainsaw. The only way one man can kill so many, so quickly, is with a gun. In Cho's case, a Glock he legally purchased last March.
Was this guy given a psychological test before being sold the gun to determine his capacity to use such a dangerous weapon responsibly? The answer is no. In Virginia, if you are over the age of 18––as Cho was––all one has to do is pass a criminal background check before one can buy a pistol.
It shouldn't be that easy. Yes, citizens have a right to protect themselves. But who protects us when these gun owners lose it? When road rage, dementia, or depression pushes them over the edge of reason?
That's a question the students of Virginia Tech––and those in other universities in the US––are asking right now. And it's a question we in the Philippines should be asking ourselves as well.
The latter owns a gun.
-----------------------------------------
(Note: Printed in the Letters to the Editor section of the April 24, 2007 edition of the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
There's a line members of gun clubs often use to defend gun ownership: "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Don't blame the gun, blame the guy pulling the trigger.
So when Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui kills 32 people with a legally-obtained 9mm Glock pistol, don't blame the weapon, or the laws that allow him to buy such weapons, or the lawmakers who drafted these laws in the first place––no, blame the obviously psychotic 23-year old.
The trouble with this logic is that a mentally unstable person wouldn't have been able to take these many lives with a swiss knife, or a machete, or even a chainsaw. The only way one man can kill so many, so quickly, is with a gun. In Cho's case, a Glock he legally purchased last March.
Was this guy given a psychological test before being sold the gun to determine his capacity to use such a dangerous weapon responsibly? The answer is no. In Virginia, if you are over the age of 18––as Cho was––all one has to do is pass a criminal background check before one can buy a pistol.
It shouldn't be that easy. Yes, citizens have a right to protect themselves. But who protects us when these gun owners lose it? When road rage, dementia, or depression pushes them over the edge of reason?
That's a question the students of Virginia Tech––and those in other universities in the US––are asking right now. And it's a question we in the Philippines should be asking ourselves as well.
1 comment:
Hi,
One site that does good Criminal Background Checks is http://www.backgroundrecordsregistry.com
Just a thought,
Chris
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