School Kids Dying in Ohio: It's a Gun Problem [View all]

[ellisonz]

Posted: 03/ 5/2012 2:55 pm
Dennis A. Henigan
Vice President, Brady Campaign; Author, 'Lethal Logic'

Once again, the nation's attention has been captured by a horrific act of violence. Gunfire in a high school. A teenager killing teenagers. Any family's worst nightmare. Chardon, Ohio, will never be quite the same.

Inevitably, the question on most people's minds is "Why?" What possibly could have caused 17-year-old T.J. Lane to turn a gun on his fellow students, killing three and wounding two more? There is talk of bullying. Of an abusive father. After all, he was attending a school for kids who have had trouble in traditional schools.

The "Why?" question is certainly important. If we are ever able to offer meaningful help to troubled kids, we must better understand the factors that cause teens to be so alienated and enraged that they would engage in violence. But the dominant focus on "Why?" often obscures the nature of the problem posed by tragedies like Chardon.

Let's face it. Chardon happened not because an Ohio teenager was so troubled that he became violent. Chardon happened because a troubled, violent Ohio teenager was able to get access to a gun.

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dennis-a-henigan/school-kids-dying-in-ohio_b_1321867.html

I would add that it is not just access to any guns, it is access to handguns in particular. And