Is It the Guns or the People?
It's both and the sooner we figure that out, the better.
Three deadly shootings happened in Cleveland within 24 hours. One occurred during a robbery. Another involved shots fired into a home. In the third incident, a man with a gunshot wound to his head was found under a bridge near railroad tracks. No arrests have been made in any of the shootings.
It’s just another day in a city plagued by violence. The majority of Clevelanders and suburbanites go about their daily routines as blood is cleaned off a street and another lifeless body is sent to the morgue. Three more statistics, faceless and nameless to everyone except closest of kin.
The feeling is much more shocking and raw when an assailant walks into a suburban school and guns down three children and three adults. Even if we don’t live anywhere near the incident, we experience a deep sorrow. Is it the number of deaths at the hands of one person? The types of weapons used? The senselessness of wiping out children for no apparent reason?
Why are some violent criminals dismissed as evil while others are described as having mental illness? And why do we label mass murderers in an attempt to either garner sympathy or outrage?
As we attempt to answer these questions, we have to realize that in general we have problems. Yes, an overabundance of readily available guns is an issue, but so are an overabundance of rage and a distinct lack of coping skills. As the rage and inability to cope increase, the gun industry obliges with more guns, some that are designed for no other purpose than to cause great internal damage and ultimately death.
We can’t be naive to assume that banning AR-15s will directly lead to happier, better-adjusted people, although it could reduce mass murders. We have to acknowledge that stolen guns and ghost guns will still be a problem. In addition, we know that people have used knives and homemade devices to cause destruction. A violent and maladjusted person will employ whatever means necessary to inflict pain.
It seems easier to ban guns than it does to try to eliminate the blinding rage that some people feel. Yet, this two-part problem demands a two-part solution.
Over the next few days, The Critical Reader will be looking at guns, crime, mental illness and other factors that comprise the crisis at hand. In the meantime, please share your thoughts and what you would like to have covered on the issue.