No Guns, No Glory?

To take out others with themselves makes dying less of a lonely act. Killing themselves and either people they hate or someone they love, to keep them company in the afterlife or to make sure they both suffer together, both make some sense. And both are tragic.

We need to better identify these lonely teens and help them find a friend. They need regular social interaction and monitoring by the same people daily. Red flags often exist. If they are depressed, more intense care and monitoring are needed.

2. The glorification of guns stems from the need of every civilization for warriors to protect them from invaders. Soldiers, war, and weapons of destruction thus become known—to young men, in particular—because there is a need for youth to join the military and train, even if just for a few years. We honor brave soldiers who die in the line of duty.

Some of these men develop expertise in the use of military machine guns—rapid-fire weapons that can kill many people from afar in minutes. They may wish to continue using their skills upon separating from the military; they want military-grade guns at home. This makes sense, for they mastered and practiced this skill for years and can handle guns safely.

Gun shows allow the purchase of military-grade weapons fairly easily in many states. In the right hands, no problem. But our laws about guns are minimal and do not check to ensure that the buyer is one of these healthy, normal, skilled men.

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