Since this not in a prayer forum I feel it not too far out of bounds to ask if our anti-guns friends read about the 71 year old who defended an entire cafe with his weapon, and no one died.
The fellow who killed these innocent people is severely disturbed. He would have found a way without guns as we have seen in the past, so blaming this on lack of gun control is ridiculous. Had someone inside been carrying they may have been able to save some lives, as did the 71 year old.
Yes... Having a weapon "easily accessible" only really becomes a problem with crimes of opportunity. In something clearly premeditated like this or like Columbine and Virginia Tech, the perpetrator is going to get a firearm no matter what.
If a couple is having an argument and one takes a pistol and shoots the other in anger (not in self-defense) you could argue that was an issue with "gun control", because the gun was there and was able to be used as a tool, but at the same time, that person could have grabbed a heavy object and done the same thing.
This is an issue of pre-meditation, and the firearm was (sadly) a tool he used to commit it. If we blame this on gun control, we could easily blame part of it on his easy access to gasoline since he threw a can in which exploded prior to opening fire. Or blame part of it on his ability to easily gain access to the wide variety of materials he could use to make the bombs and booby-trap his home.
Think of it like drugs... An addict starts using hardcore drugs. Those are banned and cracked down on and his supply is cut off. So the addict starts abusing over-the-counter medication. The medication is regulated and he switches to paint fumes... Those are regulated and controlled so he moves to canned air... A bittering agent is added to canned air and therefore he switches to something else.
While it isn't a direct analogy, the point is that someone who wants to do harm (to themselves or to others), they are going to find a way to do it and tools to do it with.
This cannot be blamed on video games, gun control or anything else. This is a man that simply needed serious help and should have been watched much more closely.
