[Bonjour43MA]

Some very tragic and perhaps unnecessary deaths of 3 young adults.

What people, espeically gun-control people, need to realize from all of these shootings, isn't that we need to get rid of all LEGALLY owned guns by legal gun owners, but the fact that there are some fundamental problems in our society these days that CREATED these criminals/psycho paths from committing such horrible crimes, and that the focus should be on the PEOPLE, not the OBJECT they used.

Without guns, they could've used knives (look at the UK for example, death rate by knives is through the roof), they could've used blunt objects like baseball bats/hammers, they could've used home-made bombs, or they could've used anything they could use as a weapon to fulfill their intention to hurt someone. Do guns make it easier? Of course! But almost all of these people acquired their guns through illegal means, and have nothing to do with the rest of the law-abiding gun owners in this country, that involuntarily get lumped together with these criminals/psycho paths. I find it amusing to see average people reacting to gun owners as if they're walking time bombs that could go off any second. The majority of the gun owners I know are law abiding, tax-paying, family-loving, and hard-working people that are no different than you or I, except that they own guns. They do not dream about doing gangster-style shooting or going ape-shit over little things, nor do they condone any violent act committed BY people WITH guns.

If banning or getting rid of guns really made the world a safer place, then why is the UK (complete ban on handguns and rifles) no more safer than it was before the ban? It's a very simple fact that people choose to ignore - bad people / criminals / crazies DO NOT OBEY THE LAW. You can ban and control all you want but crimes and murders will still happen by other means. Human beings are capable of doing some pretty nasty things to each other, and the means to that end is NEVER an issue.

These shooting deaths are mostly tragic and I do not like them one bit, but what I don't like even more is for those in FEAR (omg guns everywhere! I'm gonna get shot next! omg omg! guns, bad!) to react the wrong way and focus on the things/objects, instead of the people and their problems (broken homes, need for attention, mental issues, etc). Our current firearms act (bill C-68, implemented since 1995) was a knee-jerk reaction to the school shooting in Montreal, which sets out stricter rules and control over the use of firearms.... BUT.... look at us now, 16 years later, have the shootings stopped? The mere existence of this thread is a great collection of tragic stories to prove that why gun control doesn't work as a SAFETY tool (which is what the government wants you to believe - easy vote getting policy).

I'm not saying that we should have an open system where anyone and everyone can walk in to Walmart and pick up a 9mm. In fact, I support certain levels of gun control (what we have now with our licensing and registration system is decent) that will weed out the potential crazies and mentally unstable. But what I hope people can realize is that banning objects is never the answer to stopping these horrible acts from taking place.