How many tragedies like Sandy Hook Elementary School (Connecticut), or the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, or the movie theatre in Colorado, all in less than six months will lead to something changing?
Now add Columbine (Colorado), école Polytechnique (Montréal), W. R. Myers High School (Taber, Alberta), Dunblane (Scotland), Tasmania (Australia), youth camp (Norway), going postal, to our lexicon. Quoting Barack Obama "We can't tolerate this anymore!"
One problem is gun narcissists. Their hedonism does not extend to their children (if they have any), just to themselves. For them altruism extends to "Well, you can have a gun, too." The other is politicians like Jack Ramsey (guilty of indecent assault) and Vic Toews (babysitter affair) who use fear to elicit support by impugning motives to gun control advocates like "They will take away your guns" or "Only criminals will have guns." Fear versus love.
Why do we continue to see mostly women and children shot? For our gratification? David Frum (Canadian born speech writer for George W. Bush and author of phrase "Axis of Hatred" which was rewritten as "Axis of Evil") came out with the über sarcastic "Obviously, we need to lower the age limit for concealed-carry so toddlers can defend themselves." Yet to his astonishment, many took him seriously and supported the idea.
Any threat to gun control and the old bromides come out "It is our right to bear arms. It prevents government corruption." Or "a person with a gun is a citizen, one without is a subject." Or my favourite, "liberals like to be victims. Otherwise their entire philosophy falls apart."
Guns do not protect. It is time for change.
