On August 1, 1966, twenty-five year-old Charles Whitman ascended the UT clock tower with a personal arsenal and, shortly before noon, began shooting tourists and passersby. He killed 15 people that day, including his wife and mother that morning, and wounded 31 others. It was a horrible crime that shocked a nation. More than twenty years later, I visited Austin and they were still talking about it.<\/p>\n
Two days ago, twenty-three year-old Seung-hui Cho walked through Norris Hall at VA Tech shooting students and faculty. He killed 32 people, including two early that morning in a student dorm. Once again, the nation is shocked, but we are no longer stunned. This spree shooting is simply the bloodiest and most recent in a line of memorable shootings.<\/p>\n
The worst thing about living in a post-Columbine world is that Columbines are no longer inconceivable. What was once incomprehensible has become comprehensible. For some disturbed souls, such incidents become challenges to out-Columbine Columbine.<\/p>\n
We are all too familiar with the routine. Yesterday, there was a convocation. The President visited. There was talk of faith and healing. Meanwhile, information is slowly leaking out about the shooter. Early indications were overlooked. Danger signs were everywhere. It’s all very necessary and important, but also predictable. Now it’s like a script. We all know what the steps are. It will be the worst thing that has ever happened until the next one happens, and nothing will change.<\/p>\n
My friend Waldo has pointed out<\/a> that the politicization of these murders have already begun, with gun advocates asserting that the body count could have been reduced if only Hokies were allowed to pack heat. They will assert that the Second Amendment protects our right to load ourselves up with ammunition, and they may be right, but I don’t care anymore.<\/p>\n We live in a gun culture. We pretend to stand for democracy, but our biggest domestic product is carnage. We need a cultural change. Politicians won’t touch the gun issue; the gun lobby is too well-heeled. We need to start here in the grassroots. We need a shift away from violence. We need to stand up for a true <\/em>culture of life. The solution to gun violence is not to make guns more available. The solution is to turn our back on guns, to give them up, to shun them. Yes, we need laws to make gun ownership a privilege, not an unfettered right. But the gun lobby will always raise the spectre of “jack-booted thugs” breaking down your door to take away your Remington.<\/p>\n We have to show such arguments for what they are: unacceptable nonsense. “Guns don’t kill people,” asserts the bumper sticker. “People kill people.” No, clearly, cowards with guns kill people.<\/p>\n Virginia laws allow any state resident over 18 years of age to buy a firearm, including assault weapons, if they pass a criminal background check. Assault weapons are as easy to buy as hunting rifles. Anyone can buy weapons at second-hand gun shows without a waiting period or background check.<\/p>\n You have to register to vote. You have to register if you earn an income. You have to register to drive a car. (And apparently, you need a driver’s license to buy a phone)<\/a>. You have to register to teach. You have to register to sell food. You have to register to add an addition to your home. You have to register if you groom fingernails.<\/p>\n Buying and owning a gun in Virginia does not require a permit, but without a gun permit only one handgun purchase a month is allowed, and there is no waiting period to acquire the gun. Cho bought a handgun in March. He bought another one on Friday, April 13, three days before his rampage. On the form there is a checkbox to indicate whether the buyer has ever been involuntarily committed. Cho lied and checked “no”.<\/p>\n