John Curley: US culture might be to blame for mass shootings
Oct 2, 2015, 5:02 PM | Updated: 9:47 pm
A bullet casing is marked at the scene of a deadly shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. on Thursday. (AP)
(AP)
It might be that we can’t blame guns for mass shootings, but rather our culture, KIRO Radio’s John Curley suggests.
After a deadly shooting at a college in Oregon on Thursday, the gun control debate became front and center once again. For the 16th time, President Barack Obama stood at a podium and spoke about a school shooting.
At least nine people were killed when Chris Harper-Mercer walked into Umpqua Community College with several weapons and began shooting.
The tragedy immediately raised more questions about school security. Despite Oregon being one of seven states that allows open carry, the lone security guard at the school did not have a weapon.
Related: Who we should really be talking about after the Oregon college shooting
Even if the guard had a gun, however, there is no guarantee the person could have done anything to stop the shootings, both KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney and Dori Monson have pointed out. However, if Tom was in the room with the shooter, he would want someone there with a gun who could respond, Curley believes.
John Curley: If you were in that room, you would pray someone else had a gun.
Tom Tangney: But if everyone is armed with a gun on campus, there will be more shootouts killing innocent bystanders…
President Obama has argued that tighter gun laws will result in fewer deaths. But Curley disagrees. It’s not about the number of guns, it’s about whose hand the gun is in and their environment.
JC: You might have more people killing themselves in Japan after internalizing failures. Here, people internalize failure and take it out on others.
T: It also might be the Wild West heritage. The number of guns is still an issue.
Curley suggests that before people start arguing for tighter gun control, they take a look at the number of guns per capita in Idaho and the higher crime level in other states.
JC: It’s not about the gun in the person’s hand, it’s the hand.
That might be a good argument for universal background checks, Tom responded.
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Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 3pm for John Curley and Shari Elliker.
