“When Will They Ever Learn?”

“When will they ever learn?” This was written by Pete Seeger as the refrain and last line of the anti-war song popular during the Viet Nam War “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” And now it seems to apply to guns and mass-shootings. A Washington Post blog cites the San Bernardino shooting on December 2, 2015 as the 355th for the year. Of course just a few days before there was one in Colorado. Not all mass shooting grab the headlines, and depending on how they are counted—whether it is 4 of less casualties—the reports may differ, still even a fraction of that number is too high for a country that purports to be civilized. No matter how they are counted, their number signifies a large number of lives lost uselessly, a large number of grieving families. Not often mentioned are the public costs of law enforcement agencies and others having to be on the scenes. Such events may be good for the ratings of some broadcast media stations, and if that’s the only good then we really ought to take note. After Paris, Congress and political candidates began talk about a change of rules and laws. After each massacre, we often hear very little about that. The will to do something about guns does not seem to be strong enough to bring action. The San Bernardino shooting, the FBI says, may be linked to terrorism. Regardless, the perpetrators had to obtain guns somewhere. Gun proponents claim that more guns make us safer. That looks to be a false argument. Shootings and acts of terrorism are random, does that mean we would have to carry guns everywhere all the time to be able to protect ourselves? Would we have time to use them? Would we be able to see the attacker? And if everyone had guns how would we know who it was? How many would miss and hit by standers?
“When will they ever learn?” Maybe this could become the anthem of all those who are fighting for anti-guns legislation.