Crossposted at Immizen.com
Not only the US but the whole world is talking about the tragic massacre of children in an elementary school in the small town of Newtown, Connecticut this past Friday.
The German Spiegel writes: Republicans and Gun Lobby Complicit in Newtown
The Guardian asks: If not now, when is the time to talk about gun control?
China preferred to cover the US massacre rather than a similar event that happen just few hours earlier that same day in China. The outcome was very different because in China, the man who attacked children at an elementary school on Friday only had a knife. The children were wounded, not killed.
In other places of the world the consensus is clear; people wish to see tighter gun control in the US because they believe the imperative is to save people’s lives.
But when I read the comment section of US news sites, it is sad to see how many hard line Republicans resort to stubborn political arguments and cling to their pride to defend their moral values on the right to bear arms when the rest of the world is wondering how Americans can defend gun ownership and live with the consequences of children slaughter. I will not post those comments because they are deplorable and can be found in any comments section of any article covering the massacre and gun control. It may sound ironic, but after learning about the killer’s mother’s own obsession with assault weapons, we can well imagine her making those same comments if she were alive to make them.
To those Republicans who cannot let go of their pride even in tragic circumstances I say:
“All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.”
- Sophocles, Antigone
Perhaps the best explanation for the need to reform gun laws comes from a notoriously pro-gun Democratic politician, Joe Manchin:
"I just came with my family from deer hunting," he said. "I've never had more than three shells in a clip. Sometimes you don't get more than one shot anyway. It's time to get beyond rhetoric, it's time to sit down and move in a responsible way… it should move beyond dialogue, we need action… When Chuck Schumer says we don't need more than 10 rounds in a clip, [critics] would be wrong to say that shouldn't be on the table. Everything should be on the table."
We all agree we have to focus on more than just gun control. We need to look at access to mental health care and strategies to deal with people with mental disabilities. But the event in China provides the best evidence that lives can be saved when availability of guns is made difficult even when it is difficult to cure or remove people with mental disorders from public life.