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In the wake of the latest Colorado massacre, pundits are leaping to their keyboards to argue against gun control. On CNN James Alan Fox wrote:
Mass killers are determined, deliberate and dead-set on murder. They plan methodically to execute their victims, finding the means no matter what laws or other impediments the state attempts to place in their way. To them, the will to kill cannot be denied.

I leap to my keyboard to agree and elaborate. Because if a homicidal maniac is determined to commit mass murder, he (and I do mean "he") is going to figure out a way.
Suppose we banned assault weapons and automatic rifles tomorrow. We might still wake up to the following horrific headlines:
CROSSBOW KILLER DECIMATES AUDIENCE
An unidentified white male dressed in camouflage clothing burst into a movie theater tonight and assaulted the audience. Armed with four crossbows, three strapped over his shoulders, he launched his deadly bolts at the stunned and frightened crowd. Reloading swiftly, he mercilessly picked off victims as they cowered in the rear of the theater.
SLINGSHOTTER MASSACRES STUDENTS
Students were assembled peaceably in the cafeteria of Aaron Burr Junior High today, eating lunch and texting, when a fourteen-year-old boy armed with a slingshot burst into the room. The boy, who has not been identified because he is under age (although he will be tried as an adult) got off twenty-two rounds before the football coach rushed from the field and subdued him. "I was studying for my geometry exam," wailed one student. "I was so scared. I hid under a table but I got a really bad bruise on my leg."
WATERMELON ASSAILANT KILLS SCORES AT BASEBALL GAME
Hurling watermelons from a corporate booth, into which he had gained improper access, 22-year-old Paul Walter Smith decimated an unsuspecting crowd, crushing dozens of baseball fans and staining the clothes of others. Smith had apparently smuggled the watermelons up in an unguarded, unsupervised freight elevator. "They always find a way," sighed a police officer. "It's just useless to take precautions."
Because after all, guns don't commit mass murder. Very well-prepared and determined lunatics commit mass murder. And they're going to do it even if all they have is a pointed stick , or a banana.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
In the wake of the latest Colorado massacre, pundits are leaping to their keyboards to argue against gun control. On CNN James Alan Fox wrote:
Mass killers are determined, deliberate and dead-set on murder. They plan methodically to execute their victims, finding the means no matter what laws or other impediments the state attempts to place in their way. To them, the will to kill cannot be denied.

I leap to my keyboard to agree and elaborate. Because if a homicidal maniac is determined to commit mass murder, he (and I do mean "he") is going to figure out a way.
Suppose we banned assault weapons and automatic rifles tomorrow. We might still wake up to the following horrific headlines:
CROSSBOW KILLER DECIMATES AUDIENCE
An unidentified white male dressed in camouflage clothing burst into a movie theater tonight and assaulted the audience. Armed with four crossbows, three strapped over his shoulders, he launched his deadly bolts at the stunned and frightened crowd. Reloading swiftly, he mercilessly picked off victims as they cowered in the rear of the theater.
SLINGSHOTTER MASSACRES STUDENTS
Students were assembled peaceably in the cafeteria of Aaron Burr Junior High today, eating lunch and texting, when a fourteen-year-old boy armed with a slingshot burst into the room. The boy, who has not been identified because he is under age (although he will be tried as an adult) got off twenty-two rounds before the football coach rushed from the field and subdued him. "I was studying for my geometry exam," wailed one student. "I was so scared. I hid under a table but I got a really bad bruise on my leg."
WATERMELON ASSAILANT KILLS SCORES AT BASEBALL GAME
Hurling watermelons from a corporate booth, into which he had gained improper access, 22-year-old Paul Walter Smith decimated an unsuspecting crowd, crushing dozens of baseball fans and staining the clothes of others. Smith had apparently smuggled the watermelons up in an unguarded, unsupervised freight elevator. "They always find a way," sighed a police officer. "It's just useless to take precautions."
Because after all, guns don't commit mass murder. Very well-prepared and determined lunatics commit mass murder. And they're going to do it even if all they have is a pointed stick , or a banana.
In the wake of the latest Colorado massacre, pundits are leaping to their keyboards to argue against gun control. On CNN James Alan Fox wrote:
Mass killers are determined, deliberate and dead-set on murder. They plan methodically to execute their victims, finding the means no matter what laws or other impediments the state attempts to place in their way. To them, the will to kill cannot be denied.

I leap to my keyboard to agree and elaborate. Because if a homicidal maniac is determined to commit mass murder, he (and I do mean "he") is going to figure out a way.
Suppose we banned assault weapons and automatic rifles tomorrow. We might still wake up to the following horrific headlines:
CROSSBOW KILLER DECIMATES AUDIENCE
An unidentified white male dressed in camouflage clothing burst into a movie theater tonight and assaulted the audience. Armed with four crossbows, three strapped over his shoulders, he launched his deadly bolts at the stunned and frightened crowd. Reloading swiftly, he mercilessly picked off victims as they cowered in the rear of the theater.
SLINGSHOTTER MASSACRES STUDENTS
Students were assembled peaceably in the cafeteria of Aaron Burr Junior High today, eating lunch and texting, when a fourteen-year-old boy armed with a slingshot burst into the room. The boy, who has not been identified because he is under age (although he will be tried as an adult) got off twenty-two rounds before the football coach rushed from the field and subdued him. "I was studying for my geometry exam," wailed one student. "I was so scared. I hid under a table but I got a really bad bruise on my leg."
WATERMELON ASSAILANT KILLS SCORES AT BASEBALL GAME
Hurling watermelons from a corporate booth, into which he had gained improper access, 22-year-old Paul Walter Smith decimated an unsuspecting crowd, crushing dozens of baseball fans and staining the clothes of others. Smith had apparently smuggled the watermelons up in an unguarded, unsupervised freight elevator. "They always find a way," sighed a police officer. "It's just useless to take precautions."
Because after all, guns don't commit mass murder. Very well-prepared and determined lunatics commit mass murder. And they're going to do it even if all they have is a pointed stick , or a banana.