Batman Theater Slaughter: Would Gun Control Laws Have Prevented it?

After every major shooting, the gun control advocates can be counted on to ask "NOW can't you see the need for gun control?" But does gun control really make sense?

Would gun control have prevented this slaughter? I doubt it. Guns will continue to be available for the person determined to get one, and the kind of person who does something like the Colorado movie theater shooting would be determined.

The problem isn't the weapon, it's the intent, and there are plenty of other ways to kill. There are even plenty of ways to kill en masse. A bomb brought into the theater could have killed more as could an incendiary device. In other contexts, there's poisoning food or water.

Is the cause of gun violence really the availability of guns or is it the nature of the people who use them? Other countries have similar or greater rates of gun possession (I believe both Israel and Switzerland have higher rates), but they don't have nearly the rate of gun violence.

The difference in gun violence between Switzerland and the United States comes down to the difference between the Swiss people and Americans, and I don't see Americans changing in any fundamental way anytime soon.

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    Natalie

    Well said.

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      Heather Spoonheim

      This news article might be relevant to this discussion:

      http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/08/02/china-teen-knife-atta...

      A knife wielding teen managed to kill 8 people and wound 5 more.  I realize the victim count is lower than the theatre massacre, but still surprising that a non-gun toting maniac can do so much damage.

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      Richard E. Robertson

      Actually, the U.S. still has the highest level of gun ownership per capita (about 80%), but Switzerland is close at around 50%. Countries with stricter gun laws still have incredibly high levels of violence. I'm not going to go into deep statistical discussion on this matter, but the data is out there. Wikipedia was my (weak) source for the numbers I just quoted. It also gives a better source. 

      I just did a blog post on an attempt at rational discussion on the issue:

      http://diaryofabasketcaseprogrammer.blogspot.com/2012/08/of-arms-an...

      I posted this elsewhere on TA, but this is a more appropriate location.