Misdirected anger, misplaced blame

When faced with such an incomprehensible tragedy as the one that came to pass yesterday on the campus of Virgini@ Tech, I find myself at an unusual loss for words. There is nothing I can say, and perhaps nothing I should say, that would add anything of worth to the situation. As the saying goes, speak only if you can improve upon the silence.

I don't have the authority, nor the need, to implore you to keep the victims in your thoughts and prayers. As decent people, I'm sure you already are, and probably more effectively than I.

One thing I do feel the need to say, however, is that I think it is sick and disgraceful that many are using this tragedy for their own political points.

Some have used this incident as an opportunity to call for stricter gun control -- and in some cases even place blame on supporters of gun ownership for the tragedy itself. This sort of rabid anti-gun fanaticism is not only inappropriate in the wake of such a baffling act of evil, but it is misplaced in general.

There are cliches about gun ownership -- "guns don't kill people, people kill people," "when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns," etc. -- but they are no less true. The gun is not responsible for this heinous crime. The gun did not force this sociopath to chain the doors of the campus building while he lined up students and executed them. What law would have stopped that? It was already illegal for him to have a gun on campus. Most notably, it was already illegal for him to murder 33 people and wound some 20 others. Laws are only effective as a deterrent when there is fear of punishment. Judging by the fact that the killer took his own life, it would appear that he had no fear of punishment for his actions.

The argument could be made that had other students been allowed to carry weapons, this whole affair could have been stopped well before the death toll rose as high as it did. Had one other student in one of the classrooms been armed and properly trained, it is reasonable to assume that most of this horror could have been avoided.

It is not the existence of guns that lead to these types of tragedies. It is the misuse of guns.

When an 86-year-old man drove his car through a California farmer's market and killed 10 people, there were no calls to ban vehicles. The car was not responsible for the deaths of those people because, on its own, a car can do nothing to harm anyone. Much like a gun sitting on a table, a car parked in a garage poses a threat to no one. It is only when something as powerful as a car -- or gun -- is misused that it becomes hazardous.

To blame the gun -- and in some bizarre cases, Char|ton Hes+on -- for the deaths of innocent people ignores the true issue.

Had these students been stabbed to death with a knife or savagely beaten with a baseball bat, it would be laughable to blame the blade or the barrell. Yet somehow it is perfectly acceptable to blame the trigger, rather than the maniac pulling it.