It has now been four years since 32 students and faculty members
were killed on the Virginia Tech campus.
I earned a B.A. Degree from Virginia Tech in 1972. I have lived 2,500 miles from Blacksburg for the past 30 years. This doesn't matter. I attended many classes and labs in Norris Hall. Ambler Johnston Hall was completed during my sophomore year; I never lived there, but I visited many friends and acquaintances who did. Whenever I'm in touch with my fellow alumni, the topic of the massacre comes up. Some of them have children who were students at Virginia Tech when the massacre took place.
What has changed since April 16, 2007? Unfortunately, things have gotten worse. The killing of a federal judge, a nine-year-old girl, and four other people in Tucson, AZ in January caused the subject of gun violence to resurface briefly. Nothing changed. Instead, the State of Utah passed a law designating the Browning M1911 semiautomatic pistol as the official state gun. Arizona is considering legislation to make the Colt single action army revolver the official state firearm; it hasn't passed yet, but it has enthusiastic support from gun nut groups. In Virginia, a law was passed last year to permit the carrying of concealed weapons in bars. (More than 40 states have similar legislation.) Virginia also considered legislation to close the “gun show loophole”; it didn't pass, and one of the key opponents was State Senator John S. Edwards, whose district includes Blacksburg.
When Jim Brady, press secretary to President Ronald Reagan, was paralyzed for life by a bullet in the head, legislation was passed to require background checks for people who want to purchase firearms. However, this legislation (known as the Brady Bill) applies only to licensed dealers, and does not apply to unlicensed sales at gun shows.
The four guns used in the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999 were purchased by an 18-year-old at one of these gun shows. Two terrorists organizations (terrorists; that's a bad thing, right?), Al Qaeda and Hezbollah, have purchased weapons at gun shows. So have the Mexican drug cartels, and a lot of them are purchased in Arizona.
When is the gun violence going to stop? When will people in the US finally get sick and tired of seeing the killings of nine-year-old victims played out on CNN?
It would help to have an agenda, just to compete with the one the gun nuts have. Canadian Francine Dulong is the daughter of Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, a teacher who was one of the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre. She is a supporter of the Campaign to Close the Gun Show Loophole. Also lined up against the gun show sales is the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Another laudable goal of sane people (the ones who don't confuse “Gunsmoke” with reality) is a limit on clip sizes, a measure that was adopted in Canada after the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989. Such a law was in effect in the U.S. until 2004, but it expired because of a “sunset” provision on the legislation. No, limiting clips to ten rounds won't stop people from getting murdered, but it limits the damage that murderers can do. New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy has introduced such legislation.
Officeholders like the State Senator for Roanoke and Blacksburg mentioned above need to stop getting a free ride for acting on behalf of the gun nuts, and against the public interest. When they show up at the local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary luncheon, ask them what they were thinking about when they voted in favor of concealed weapons in bars, or for adoption of an official state gun. Vote for and donate money to candidates that oppose them, and if no candidate is running that will take up the gun control issue, run yourself.
