Re: Colorado - Seen from abroad

["Jim Foster" <jfoster@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Those studies are known to be flawed in that their definition of "children"
includes juveniles up to 18 or 21 years of age.  Thus they include gang and
drug related killings.  Also, they do not include firearm deaths of
governments against citizens, see Kosovo.

No gun control law would have prevented the killing in Colorodo last week.
They would have used bombs to kill or they would have just broken the law
(which they did).  Gun control laws serve only to make the citizenry more
vulnerable to an oppressive government and those who have no problem in
breaking the law.

Face it, the system failed these two kids.  Maybe it was their upbringing
that failed them.  Maybe it was the upbringing of all the jocks who
constantly tormented them.  Maybe it was the huge school.  Maybe it was
working mothers.  Maybe it was lack of religion.  Maybe it was the violent
games.  Mabye it was the lack of values on both sides.  

I don't have any easy answers other than to know that there are no easy
answers.  Not gun-control laws, not metal detectors, not random drug tests.
 Only a better sense of values and decency would have prevented this
tragedy and that can't be legislated by government.

I, for one, am not willing to give up any hard-won freedom to those looking
for a quick fix to societies's ills.

At 02:39 PM 4/29/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Oddone Virginio wrote:
<SNIP>

>I strongly agree with Dr. Oddone, that the problem of American children
>killing themselves and others could use some comparative studies.  The
>Washington POST printed figures, probably from the study he cited, that
>in 1996, there was in Japan - 15 handgun deaths by children; in Great
>Britain, 30; in Canada, 106; and in the U.S., 9,300.  Even correcting
>for population does not remove the disparity.  On the other hand, it is
>probably nicely correlated with average income, numbers of people in
>prison, average size of highschools, the number of guns sold everyday
>and various other good things of the society.  Has anyone seen a
>drive-by stabbing recently?
>
>Cecelia Sudia
>Washington, DC
>csudia@xxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
--
James I. Foster Jr.                         jfoster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Information Technology Director, Silver Springs - Martin Luther School
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