>Charles,
>
>>I believe in a more politically correct and enlightened light we would see that as "blaming the victim". The correct answer is, obviously, all the guns. Anything else would imply people are responsible for their own actions and certain behaviors and mindsets (all of which are equally valid in relativistic universe) have consequences.
>>
>>It's the guns.
>
>Kids are addicted to candy, Americans are addicted to their guns.
>
>Do you leave a child in a candy store and afterwards blame the child for eating too much candy?
>Do you blame the kid, or do you blame yourself for letting the kid have easy access to the candy?
>
>the analogy is the same. Its neither the candy or the gun who was guilty. But could you really blame the kid or the gun owner? No, its the enforcement of law that was guilty in preventing too easy access and preventing something that to happen that is pretty obvious from the start.

But my point was that guns in the hands of well adjusted, properly socialized, non-criminal and mentally healthy individuals are not a threat.

Modern society has many social ills and the use of guns is a symptom not a cause of dysfunction.

Among my friends and family, in my neighborhood, and I suspect among the majority of the population, I would not feel threatened if the guy next door had a tank or fighter aircraft.

Among some subcultures in our society I think there is a danger when people are allowed to have kitchen knives.

Spouses killing each other in drunken rages will happen whatever the tools at hand.. Other violence is usually mental illness or crime.

The main problem is the failure to identify, treat, and if necessary confine the mentally ill who are a danger to themselves and others and to be ruthless in the removal from society of violent predators.

But of course as I have so often said the cycles will continue until we become very serious about protecting children - usually from the inadequacies and bad decisions of "parents" who are part of the same cycle of neglect, ignorance and lack of commitment to parenting that breeds more of the same.

But it's easier to go after guns. It makes a lot of noise, makes everyone feel good and changes nothing. I'm a lot more worried about neglected and abused children than I am about shooting sprees. But doing something about that would require telling some truths that are not politically correct.

That said, I don't really care much about gun control. I think registration and licensing of any kind is not at all unreasonable. And draconian laws against making guns available to anyone not properly licensed is certainly reasonable and that would mean the NRA would think I am Barack Obama.

BUT - the number of guns currently out there can only be reduced slowly and that will primarily be accomplished by more strict enforcement of existing laws and less toleration for a criminal subculture and too often exactly the politicians screaming for gun control are very unenthusiastic about criminal control.