So if gun control isn't the answer, what is the answer?

[Decoy of Fenris]

211. We're not on opposite sides of this, CT, contrary to what you may think.

Gun violence and senseless slaughters like this one are not caused by "guns". Guns, and by extension violence -with- guns, stems from an illness of society that isn't limited to guns or gun violence. I'm not talking simple "mental disorders" but an entitlement mentality that stretches deeply into the psyche of the American populace.

How do you "treat" someone with a genuine belief that human life isn't worth much? How can you medicate away a sincere thought that some people -deserve- to die? That isn't just a brain misfire, it is a product of a culture or society that minimizes all human life on a fundamental level. Even if (though?) the poster on 4chan wasn't the shooter, look at the responses; there are people coaching him, encouraging him, hoping that he kills as many people as he possibly can, daring him to do it simply to watch the chaos unfold.

That isn't a problem with "Guns" CT, and even if you banned every gun in the nation (or even the world), that mindset is -far- more dangerous than any inanimate object.

You're right that your two beliefs don't contradict each other, but one does supersede the other; Treat the reasons people go on rampages, you stop the rampages. Ban guns and rampages will continue, just on a smaller scale. One of those -ends- the rampages, one of those only puts a damper on them. That is the point I'm trying to make and what I work towards off this forum. It's also why I can almost never side with the Gun Control side of things; their scope is so limited, so narrow and so nebulously defined that it's impossible to take them seriously. If they actually cared about helping people, they'd -help people- instead of just trying to deny things to wide swaths of a civilian populace.

We're on the same side here CT, we're just quibbling on the details.