There’s nothing inherently wrong about responding to a tragedy with a call for action which might save lives in similar circumstances in the future. Tragedies as diverse as the Titanic sinking and the Jack the Ripper killings have inspired lifesaving reforms from lawmakers who perceive the needed urgency. That is not the case with the refrains we hear after every mass shooting, when Democrats invariably call for gun control measures which have little to do with the matter at hand.
New push for gun control after shooting
The Oxford High School shooting immediately prompted new calls from Democrats to revive efforts to crack down on gun ownership in the United States.
The script changes with every tragedy for the anti-gun activists; just a few weeks ago prosecutors in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial were insinuating that handguns are less deadly than the rifle Rittenhouse carried.
Now that a handgun was used to carry out the Oxford shooting we will be seeing new calls for handguns to be put under stricter control.
The changing narrative highlights the issue with the calls for gun control which emerge from all of these tragedies; no one making demands has any suggestion which might have actually prevented these killings.
Nothing being demanded by Democrats in the aftermath of this killing could have prevented it; at best their suggestions might have limited the damage, and even that is questionable.
Republicans are often accused of trying to dodge the issue at hand after a tragedy like this but in reality it is the other side which prefers not to ask the most important questions.
Warning signs not appreciated
The Second Amendment ensures that a blanket ban on guns, in addition to being a terrible idea, is constitutionally impossible for Democrats who might think this is the answer.
They can make it harder for potential killers to acquire a gun or limit the sorts of guns they might be able to get their hands on but this cannot really be more than a minor inconvenience.
The real issue is the fact that a 15-year-old had a desire to murder his classmates. Teachers apparently noticed disturbing behavior but nothing was done to seriously address it.
That seems to be a theme in most of these mass shootings. The killer was obviously unhinged and appeared to have violent tendencies before he started shooting.
The sort of disturbing behavior he showed off prior to the attack should have been enough to justify his being removed from school and subjected to serious questioning.
Instead, Democrats are left speculating about what might have happened had he been equipped with a slightly less damaging weapon or had been forced to go out of his way a bit to acquire his gun.