Where do we go from here?

"Where do we go from here?"

 By Ralph L. Myers

4/17/07

 

I wrote this article the day after the shooting on the campus of Virginia Tech. What I have said in that article is once again being played out and applicable today since the Newtown, CT and Aurora, CO shootings.

 

April 16, 2007 will go down as one of the darkest and most tragic days in American history when 32 persons were murdered by a lone gunman who then took his own life at Virginia Tech University. Because of this horrendous event and as these shootings are being investigated I think once more a rhetorical question must be asked, "Where do we go from here?"

Depending on one's personal opinions and perceptions as well as life experiences the answers to that question are many and complex. To many people the shootings that occurred at Virginia Tech would probably never have happened if guns were not so readily available. However, others can also legitimately argue that if more citizens were allowed to carry a concealed firearm then what happened on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech may have been prevented or the murderous toll been mitigated significantly if one of those victims had been armed and able to defend themselves.  As horrendous as the shootings at Virginia Tech was I am of the opinion that there can not be any valid justification for law-abiding gun owners to give up their right to legally obtain and own firearms.

Let's examine both sides of this issue. As can be expected the call for more and stricter gun control laws were probably immediately voiced as the echo of the shots that were fired were probably still ringing out in the hallowed halls of Virginia Tech University. I am sure it has been said by someone that, "if guns were outlawed and not available to the ordinary citizen this shooting would or could never have happened." Perhaps in a perfect world or maybe a police state that argument may be a valid one. Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world, and thankfully we do not live in a police state. I also think it is fair to say that as Americans who cherish our individual rights and freedoms we do not want to live in such a state.

 Okay then the anti-gun advocates might argue we have to pass more gun control laws limiting the availability of firearms to the American populace the effect being more laws and regulations will prevent future Virginia Tech or Columbine like massacres.

 But at what expense to our constitutionally granted and guaranteed rights, all rights not just the right to bear arms as granted by the Second Amendment. Many if not most persons who are adamant about restricting or limiting the right to own and bear arms are equally as strong in their belief in the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and assembly. They also hold this same zealous belief in the rights granted by the Fourth Amendment that "the people should also be secure in their persons, houses and papers," as well as the Ninth Amendment right that "certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." Or the right retained by the people as granted by the Fourteenth Amendment or "equal protection clause." Yet they would seemingly be willing to sacrifice those zealous beliefs by allowing a restriction or complete denial of the Second Amendment rights.

 Sadly there can not or will there ever be a totally crime free and safe society and as the information becomes more available about the person who murdered all those people at Virginia Tech it is becoming more apparent that the shooter was in fact one of those undetected psychotics he would have probably found a way to wreak the havoc he did.. "Maybe not," anti-gun advocates might say but society everywhere and on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech University would have been much better off if guns were outlawed.

 Let's look at this argument and take it to another scenario. It is 7:15AM on Monday April 17, 2017 at Virginia Tech, Harvard, USC, UCLA or any other University or College in America. There are no guns as they have been banned and confiscated many years ago. However, no matter what laws have been passed for the good or protection of public safety the evil and deranged psychopaths that plague and freely walk amongst us and are hell-bent on making a statement by wreaking havoc, anarchy, chaos and mayhem on the rest of the decent and unsuspecting unarmed populous on University campuses or in the cities where they are located are unaffected by those laws. It doesn't matter if those deranged persons are acting alone or in a small group or an organized terrorist cell all the gun control laws and a repeal of the 2^nd Amendment that had taken place will not protect us from them. Instead of having guns since they are no longer allowed their new weapons of choice may be back-packs, book bags or brief cases filled with explosives or perhaps poisonous or toxic materials. Since book bags, back-packs and brief cases are so common place they can and more than likely would go innocently unnoticed by students since most of them have one of those items. If either an individual or a group of persons detonate one or many of those items or release the toxins into the environment or water supply this time thousands, maybe millions could be murdered as they were on September 11, 2001. What will be the response or reaction to this murderous event?  If after a considerable amount of hand-wringing, finger pointing and meaningless rhetoric will we now demand to outlaw back-packs, book bags and brief cases? A ludicrous analogy you say? I believe an event such as this could very well happen in the not to distant future and is a probability rather than a far fetched possibility.

 Earlier I mentioned "our opinions are shaped by perceptions and one's personal life experiences." From this writer's viewpoint that is definitely true and why I believe further gun control is not the way to approach preventing future Virginia Tech occurrences.

 I suspect the next question directed to me because of my belief in my 2^nd Amendment rights would be, “alright then Mr. pro-gun and anti-gun control advocate what would you be saying if one of those murdered at Virginia Tech was your child or loved one? “I bet you would want new gun laws passed and would have a different opinion then.”

 "I am one of them and my heart goes out to those victims and their surviving families and friends," Mr. or Mrs. Anti-gun advocate! I lost my son to gun violence in 1993 and the weapon of choice used to murder him was a Glock 9 millimeter hand gun the same as what the murderer used at Virginia Tech. At that time there was already many tough on guns laws on the books including the Brady Act. All the control laws in the world did not prevent my son's murderer from illegally obtaining the hand gun he bought it from someone at a donut shop near our West San Fernando Valley home. This information came out during testimony at the trial of my son's murderer.

In the weeks, months and now years since the murder of my son in an effort to survive and deal with the overwhelming loss and grief that had been cast upon my family and me I found refuge in becoming active in various victim's rights organizations and grief support groups such as Parents of Murdered Children and Other Survivors of Homicide. I hope and pray that these new survivors of those murdered at Virginia Tech will seek solace and comfort from others who have suffered a loss like no other. I must caution them however as they are trying to survive this horrible ordeal many of their friends and even family members will not understand what they are experiencing and thinking they are helping will tell them to put this behind them and get on with their life. If only it was that easy but as we all know life does go on and they will be getting on with their life a day at a time, recovering from something that has happened and they had nothing to do with. Being a survivor of a murder victim isn't the same as being a recovering alcoholic or drug addict there isn't any twelve step programs to help get you through the ordeal. Needless to say after 14 years my wife, family, friends and I are still devastated and haunted by a senseless act committed by a deranged individual. The pain those students are experiencing and the families and friends as well as the communities where the victims were from will never go away completely. For them there can not be any so called closure even though that is a word the media and even mental health care professionals like to use much of the time.

 What this horrible carnage and loss of life at Virginia Tech has to me once again been made perfectly apparent is the utter and unimaginable grief, loss and sorrow that has been cast upon the Virginia Tech Campus and especially on the families and friends of those who lost a loved one to the shootings. While at the same time it has created a media feeding frenzy and bonanza for criminal profilers as well as psychologists and the anti-gun rights activists all coming out of the woodwork appearing on the talking head news shows most of the time their attention has been focused on the troubled mental state of the murderer. If you are one of those that sadly and needlessly lost someone on April 16, 2007 your pain and loss is being exacerbated by the (predictable) direction the dialogue has taken since then. You have become victims and your victimization is being exploited! The loved one or friend that has been lost is soon forgotten as though their life was lived in vain and only the murderer's mental state matters. I know this from experience. I have and continue to live with an overwhelming sense of grief and loss.

 Forget about closure this term will have very little if any meaning to you and doesn't really exist. It is only a term or word used by those who have never lost a loved one to murder and who feel uncomfortable at being around you because they know the next Virginia Tech or terrorist attack may affect them as it has each of you.

 I personally find no solace in being forced to give up my right to own a firearm for protection of my family or myself and will refuse to do so if it is allowed to come to that. Like the millions who are in America illegally snubbing their collective noses at and ignoring our laws being aided and abetted by spineless politicians of both parties and the ACLU  I will become one of them. I will simply ignore the law. I will not give up what may be the last line of defense available to me to protect my family and me from the psychopaths and criminals that walk freely about in our midst.

 So, "Where do we go from here?" Do we simply give in to the demands of those that want to pass laws that will render law-abiding citizens helpless and defenseless making them easy prey for violent predators? Or do we take a stand and fight to preserve our Second Amendment Right to bear arms? I for one choose to fight!

Crime Victims against Gun Control