Multiple Victim Shootings

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In recent years the world has been plagued by "multiple victim shootings" where a man (and it's usually a man) arms himself with firearms, enters a crowded, public place and guns down total strangers before inevitably turning the weapon on himself.

The obvious solution that many people have to this problem is to ban guns, which they believe will reduce access to weapons and prevent these incidents from occurring so frequently.

People who are distracted by the guns issue have missed the real problem, which is loneliness. This is what creates the mindset of a person who hates society, who resents people better looking, more successful, more popular than himself. Who has no one to do things with, no one to talk to, no one to see or touch, no one to keep him in check or to keep him grounded, or indeed, to keep him alive.

These incidents are not about having access to guns or knives - if someone wanted to do this so badly they would find a way whether guns were easy to come by or not.

What sparks these massacres is a lonely modern life, cut off from family, with few friends, struggling to find love in a world that places no value on commitment, loyalty or human life and instead places a large emphasis on physical appearances, wealth or status. We have created a society where many people care little about the lives and well being of others, and they make no effort to hide this.

Take an ordinary guy who's lonely, lacks self-esteem and self-confidence. He already feels bad about himself and probably believes that nobody cares about him either. Then take the person who verbally abuses him for making a mistake whilst driving, the shallow and selfish woman who won't look twice at him because he drives a old Ford instead of a Ferrari, then add the insensitive work colleagues who take advantage of his vulnerable state and treat him like dirt.

When a person is rejected by society, after a while they become angry. But instead of treating him as a human being, they accuse him of having an "attitude".

Is it any wonder that some people snap after prolonged treatment of this kind ?

Most of these men are deeply, terribly lonely and there are lots more of them out there. That's why this sort of thing happens, and sadly it's going to happen more often.

My own view is that these incidents are one of the very few "downsides" to gun ownership in any country. If I happen to be sitting in a bar or restaurant when someone walks in, opens fire and blows me away before I have chance to defend myself, I will accept the extremely small risk of that happening as one of the costs of freedom.

What I will not accept is being left defenceless against violent criminals, foreign invasion and a potentially tyrannical government.

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THE HUNGERFORD MASSACRE

This incident happened on August 19th 1987, when gunman Michael Ryan killed more than 14 people and wounding more than 15 others in the process, before shooting himself dead.

This deranged maniac was able to wander around the small town, killing anyone that he wanted.

But what if someone else other than Michael had been carrying a gun in public ?

He could have been gunned down before he fired anything more than a few shots. As it was he killed more than 14 people because no-one was capable of stopping him sooner.

Almost all gun massacres in America now happen in areas that are designated as "gun-free zones" where possession of firearms is strictly against the law. Such areas create perfect "hunting grounds" for unbalanced individuals intent on murder, as they know that no-one will be able to stop them once they start shooting.

The same cannot be said for public areas where guns are legally to carry.

Relaxed gun laws, with no areas that areas classed as "gun-free zones" will ensure that a multiple-victim shooting can be halted with minimal casualties.

( Source - BBC News  - August 13th 1987 )

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THE DUNBLANE MASSACRE

On the morning of Wednesday March 13th 1996, Thomas Watt Hamilton walked into a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland and open fired, using his legally held semi-automatic pistols to kill 16 young children and their teacher and wound more than 10 others. Like Michael Ryan, Hamilton then committed suicide by turning one of the guns on himself before the police could arrive to arrest him.

This was an appalling crime, but it's important to remember than it's impossible to legislate against acts of insanity.

For many years, Thomas Hamilton was suspected of being a paedophile, but concerns about his behaviour towards young boys were largely ignored by the authorities. The reasons for this are unclear, but it's suspected that Hamilton had "friends in high places".

Had the authorities gathered evidence against Hamilton and prosecuted him for child sex offences he could have been put in prison, where he would have had no opportunity to commit this appalling act.

But even if he was allowed to remain free and instead his guns were taken from him, his sheer determination to carry out this attack would have meant that he would have almost certainly acquired guns illegally anyway.

After all, he had no intention of going to prison for his crimes.

At the time of the shooting John Douglas, former Head Of Profiling for the FBI, said this of Hamilton -

"You could deprive Hamilton of his guns. But someone like him is mission-oriented and where there's a will, there's a way, even with strict gun laws".

More information can be found by reading this report. The section about Dunblane starts at the bottom of page 9.

 

( Source - Enquiry into the shooting at Dunblane in March 1996 )

( Source - True Crime Library - The Dunblane Massacre )