The tragedy at VT

The news has been filled with the details of incident and the aftermath of the shootings and murders at Virginia Tech. Friends of ours have a daughter who is a senior there, and she is fine. She was in another building when the incident was happening. But it is only by chance that she wasn't directly involved, and it gives pause that any of us are just an instant away from something as terrible as this. There seems to be a lot of focus on the young man who wielded the guns and his loneliness, reports of stalking, bomb threats, and other "signs" that things were not right.

It seems impractical and unconstitutionally intrusive that some sort of government oversight and intervention of anyone who is troubled could prevent these kinds of things. Ideally, when someone exhibits behavior that tends to make them reclusive and antisocial, we as society would shower some attention on that person and get them to feel included again. But that is admittedly a bit pollyannish as well. My feeling is that a better system of gun control is a step in the right direction.

Looking at the German system, I see some positive things that could have precluded this and other similar incidents. To own a gun in Germany, you have to be a member of a club or organization that is involved in a sport or organized activity, like target shooting or a hunting club. You have to become certified as knowing how to handle guns and be safe. You have to demonstrate that you have a safe and secure place to store the weapons. In other words, the German government takes a couple steps to insure that you are a responsible gun owner. You might argue that these steps don't do anything to preclude a depressed individual from committing a terrible crime. But I would counter that the mandatory membership in a club or organization and the related instruction and certification is inclusive in its very nature, and tends to foster a sense of social responsibility in anyone who is exposed to the rules and the societal norms taught and practiced in these clubs. So the thing that would have happened with this student if he had had to join a club and get instruction, and be with other people who were enthusiastic about the hobby, is his depression and feelings of being left out would have been eliminated. He would have a group of people he regularly associated with for normal and healthy expression of feelings.

I am not trying to advocate elimination of gun ownership, rather a method of insuring more responsible gun ownership.