When Will We Ever Learn?

At what point will the gun lobby fold some of its cards and give in to common sense? Perhaps there is no point of return. Presidents have been killed and shot at and little has been done to rein in all the guns that are on our streets. Meaningless handgun laws like The Brady Act tinker at the edge of the gun problem but do little to stop the continued carnage in our nation. At what number of those killed by a mass murder will the American people recoil in horror and realize that a civilized society cannot afford to have people running around with rapid fire weapons and guns that have stronger force than the law enforcement agents paid to protect us?

If ever there was an opportunity to turn the tide you would have thought that the recent killings on the Virginia Tech campus would bring all of us to that point of reason and start the necessary steps toward meaningful gun control. Well now we know that the number thirty is too small a number to stop the gun people. In the past two weeks, both the Virginia Assembly and Senate have voted to stop even the meekest of proposals - the ban of sales to mentally ill people by private gun owners.

The conservative Hokie campus was devastated by the shooting spree conducted by Seung-Hui Cho. Many of the families and students effected by the rampage called for the most minimal change in state law. They were not calling for any wholesale ban on gun ownership (although they really should have) but just for steps to be taken to keep guns away from those with a penchant for unstable actions. The NRA and its minions would not back down for this sensible request and have used their influence to stop it from becoming a law.

There is a saying that a small dedicated group can do a lot. Jesus and his small group of followers set a religion revolution that continues to this day. Lenin and the Bolsheviks in Russia terrorized a nation throughout the twentieth century. And in the USA, the gun lobby has its way with the majority of politicians (Democrat and Republican), while the rest of us must live in fear of an unexpected bullet that might find its way to harm or kill us.

If the majority rules, than something needs to be done. But at what number of dead people, will we say enough is enough and stand up for what is right and decent?