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Charles Krauthammer

The roots of mass murder

Every mass shooting has three elements: the killer, the weapon and the cultural climate. As soon as the shooting stops, partisans immediately pick their preferred root cause with corresponding pet panacea. Names are hurled, scapegoats paraded, prejudices vented. The argument goes nowhere. …

(1) The Weapon

Within hours of last week’s Newtown, Conn., massacre, the focus was the weapon and the demand was for new gun laws. Several prominent pro-gun Democrats remorsefully professed new openness to gun control. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is introducing a new assault weapons ban. And the president emphasized guns and ammo above all else in announcing the creation of a new task force.

I have no problem in principle with gun control. Congress enacted (and I supported) an assault weapons ban in 1994. The problem was: It didn’t work. (So concluded a University of Pennsylvania study commissioned by the Justice Department.) The reason is simple. Unless you are prepared to confiscate all existing firearms, disarm the citizenry and repeal the Second Amendment, it’s almost impossible to craft a law that will be effective.

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Unless you are prepared to confiscate all existing firearms, disarm the citizenry and repeal the Second Amendment

That’s the goal.

John the Libertarian on December 21, 2012 at 8:29 PM

But there’s a cost. Gun control impinges upon the Second Amendment; involuntary commitment impinges upon the liberty clause of the Fifth Amendment; curbing “entertainment” violence impinges upon First Amendment free speech.

That’s a lot of impingement, a lot of amendments. But there’s no free lunch. Increasing public safety almost always means restricting liberties. We made that trade after 9/11. We make it every time the Transportation Security Administrationinvades your body at an airport. How much are we prepared to trade away after Newtown?

And there you have it.

a capella on December 21, 2012 at 8:34 PM

Gun control impinges upon the Second Amendment; involuntary commitment impinges upon the liberty clause of the Fifth Amendment; curbing “entertainment” violence impinges upon First Amendment free speech.

This was not one of Charles’ better pieces.

John the Libertarian on December 21, 2012 at 8:35 PM

Increasing public safety almost always means restricting liberties.

This is often the Left’s rationale behind atrocities like ObamaCare, which — of course — all rational individuals understand will have the oh-so-”unintended-consequence” of accomplishing the opposite of its goal … by actually decreasing public safety (owing to skyrocketing costs, a dearth of providers willing to be government employees, and rationed care/death panels — as has been proven in every socialist “paradise” where it’s been implemented).

Given the unconstitutional precedent set by ObamaCare (and more specifically, upheld by the idiot Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court) — if we can mandate that all citizens (or are illegal aliens included too? oh, that’s right, most don’t pay taxes so can avoid the fines) be required to purchase health insurance or pay a fine lest they face the wrath of the IRS thugocracy, then why don’t we mandate that all (otherwise qualified) citizens be required to purchase, be trained in the handling and legal consequences of, and carry a firearm? Hey, it’s all for the “public good”, baby!

Hopefully, this would result in these handful of psychotic maniacs just offing themselves in isolation, knowing that the virtually certain result of attacking a group or crowd would result in them — once their first shot is fired — being shot immediately numerous times by responsible adults and probably suffering much as a result … before bleeding out.

This would also have the pleasant side effect of making the society much more polite …