The Race to Blame

In the wake of yesterday's Virginia Tech shootings, I have little to add. It is hard, perhaps impossible, to understand the acts of madmen. And as of this morning, there's still so much we do not know.

That lack of information hasn't stopped the usual suspects, though. Already cries for more gun-control legislation are going out in the media and press. Of course, they ignore the fact that Virginia Tech banned its students from carrying weapons, even if they were qualified to do so under the state of Virginia's concealed-carry laws.

The fact is, yet another law only restricts the liberties of those willing to obey the law. For a madman with murder in mind, a weapons possession charge is the least of his worries.

Jack Dunphy writes in National Review today:

The rush to blame the school’s administration and police is a reflection of a society that believes any and all misfortune can be averted by the proper application of government will. At this very moment, politicians in Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C., are exerting their tiny brains trying to be the first to propose legislation that will “prevent the next tragedy.” The number of laws the killer broke on Monday will probably run to more than 20, but there are those who actually believe he might have been deterred by a few more strokes of a legislative pen. I can’t put it any more simply than this: There are evil people in the world, and no amount of laws will make them any less so.

The race to blame everyone besides the killer is on.