Those who say that you can solve this problem with gun control are engaging in a fantasy. Um, can you prevent some cases of this by locking up all the guns? Sure. Is that politically possible in the near-term in the United States? No. Uh, my problem with the gun control argument is that it so grossly simplifies what’s going on here, that this is, you know, we had tons and tons and tons of guns in this country and no school shootings for a long time. So, school shootings are not a necessary or inevitable consequence of having lots of guns.
Malcolm Gladwell
March 16, 2016
Malcolm Gladwell: Gun Control Won’t Stop School Shootings But We Should Still Ban Guns
[I’ve read a number of Gladwell’s books. Including Outliers: The Story of Success, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. He’s a smart guy. But I think he failed to study this particular issue with the usual thoroughness he has devoted to other subjects.
After getting the essence of the school shooting correct he goes on to say:
This is a, gun control can solve the much bigger problem of the kind of unpremeditated shootings done in the heat of passion or drunkenness or drug use that claim the lives of tens of thousands of Americans every year. That’s the reason to ban guns.
This is complete B.S. without support of any data beyond his speculation. There are less than 10K illegal homicides in the U.S. each year. Hence there cannot be “tens of thousands” of “unpremeditated shootings” each year that result in loss of life.
Don’t ever let anyone get away with telling you that no one wants to take your guns.—Joe]
Wow. Such “logic”. Gun control doesn’t work, but we should ban guns anyway.
Isn’t that a bit like saying executions won’t eliminate ignorance, but this dumbass should be killed anyway?