Time for a Talk on Gun Control

By Peter Galuszka

Once more time, we have mass death by firearms perpetrated apparently by a man with severe mental illness.

In this case, however, some 20 of the victims were schoolchildren roughly between the ages of five and 10. When the gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Ct., they were utterly helpless.

The apparent guns used, a Glock pistol and a Bushmaster .223 M4 carbine rifle, have wielded carnage in other mass shootings. The former has been used in numerous such shootings. The latter was a type similar to that used by the D.C. snipers 10 years ago.

We’ve been reading a lot of hype about how gun sales in places like Virginia are supposedly linked to a declining murder rate. A couple problems here.

While murder rates in general are trending downward,. there is no question that instances of mass shootings have increased.

Secondly, the gun crowd says that everyone should pack a piece to product him or herself in just such as setting. Old Dominion lawmakers have even proposed having college students carry weapons in class to prevent the Virginia Tech type of tragedy.

What were we have supposed to have done in the Connecticut case? Give a six year old a Smith & Wesson with her  Sponge Bob Square  Pants lunchbox?

As President Barack Obama says, it is really time to revisit the issue of sensible gun control. With the GOP in disarray and the Tea Party madcappers fading, now is the time to hold just such a discussion.