If only soldiers had been allowed to carry concealed weapons on base. If only more people had guns to defend themselves. If only those damn anti-gun chickenshits hadn't banned guns from [NAME/TYPE OF LOCATION].
Invariably to the gun crowd, the only answer is, "More guns."
We've already heard the calls following yesterday's Fort Hood shooting:
Rep. Mike McCaul said Wednesday’s tragedy at Fort Hood is another reminder that members of the military should be able to carry concealed weapons on base.
“I personally think, if you’re trained for combat, you ought to be able to carry a weapon,” the Texas Republican said on Fox News’s “The Kelly File” on Wednesday night in the wake of the shooting that left four dead and more than a dozen injured at the Texas military base.
I am sure we would hear similar calls from some of the RKBA crowd here, particularly those who favor concealed or open carrying of weapons.
We've heard calls for "More guns" following other mass shootings, including the NRA's call to add armed guards to schools across the country, and legislation proposed in the U.S. House that would allow military personnel to carry weapons on base following the Navy shipyard shooting.
What you won't hear gun lovers talking about is just how insanely easy it is to get a gun -- handgun, long gun or other gun -- in this country.
According to reports, the latest Fort Hood shooter, Ivan Lopez, was being evaluated for PTSD and "had sought help for depression, anxiety and other problems."
The .45-caliber Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol he used to wound 16, kill three and, ultimately, kill himself, was recently purchased, according to reports.
Again, the NRA, its pawns in Congress, gun makers and the gun community here and elsewhere fail to address the real issue: the easy availability of guns in this country.
As I noted following the Navy shipyard shooting:
The gun makers (with language repeated by their mouthpieces at the NRA, in Congress and even here at Daily Kos, whether knowingly or unknowingly) don't give a rat's ass who gets a gun as long as they get a sale.
The U.S. is awash in guns with a
guns per capita rate that not only dwarfs that of other developed countries, but that of third world countries, as well.
While this shooter may have been insane, what is truly insane is our gun policy (or lack thereof).
The answer is not "More guns!"
The answer is to make guns much more difficult to obtain, particularly handguns. The ready availability of handguns (and other guns) is exacting a terrible toll on our nation, not just in mass shootings, but in day-to-day homicides and debilitating injuries to many in our nation's urban areas and beyond.
[UPDATE]
Lopez had just recently (last two weeks) moved to Killeen, TX/Fort Hood from another base. He bought the gun at Guns Galore near Killeen:
Lopez used a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol that he had recently purchased, Milley said.
...
Lopez passed a background check when he bought a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun at Guns Galore near Killeen, Texas, according to U.S. law enforcement officials. He was found to have no criminal history that would disqualify him from the purchase, and the gun store did what was required, according to law enforcement officials who reviewed the records.
...
The federal background check system relies on state and federal authorities to provide data on people who are mentally ineligible to buy firearms. Texas law sets a high bar to deny firearms purchases, including having been diagnosed by a licensed physician as suffering from a psychiatric disorder that is likely to cause substantial impairment in judgment and intellectual ability.
Yep, it's
insanely easy to get a gun in this country...