Rant #1,456: Why?

The Emanuel AME Church disaster in South Carolina opens up a lot of cans of worms touching on a lot of different things.

Certainly one of them is gun violence.

The proliferation of guns in this country--both legal and illegal--is appalling.

Why anyone feels the need to have a gun in his possession is completely beyond me.

Whether legally or illegally obtained, guns lead to violence. And the ease at which one who wants a firearm can get one is simply ridiculous.

Look, if someone wants a gun, they will get one, often illegally. I am not talking about those who get their guns illegally, which is another story altogether.

But I am talking about those who get their guns legally.

Evidently, the shooter received his gun legally from his parents as a gift.

Why would parents give a gun as a gift to begin with? That is crazy in itself.

And talking about crazy, when you mix a firearm with somebody who is mentally deranged, well, the potential for good is not very high.

Lots more is coming out about the shooter now that the deed has been done, a kid who evidently came from a decent home who somehow went off the deep end.

He got immersed in some anti-black and anti-Jewish sites, reading about how "terrible" each group's impact has been in our society.

He then took it upon himself to right these wrongs, becoming judge, jury and executioner in one fell swoop, killing nine innocent people.

The only outcome from something like this is that somewhere down the line, this young man will go to trial, probably plead insanity--his lawyers will say yes, he did it, but ... -- and he will get the death penalty.

Sounds a lot like what happened in Boston, doesn't it?--a young person so deranged with hate that he decided that he needed to kill people to make some inane point.

And like in the other case, some of those attached to the victims will plead that his life be spared.

And again, that is not going to happen.

In out society, where racial and religious tension has risen to a fever pitch lately, rivaling how it was in the early to mid 1960s, this is simply another case that defies explanation.

I am going to look at it as an isolated incident. I simply don't think this guy is being applauded by anyone for what he did.

But it all goes back to the availability of guns, and I mean legally obtained guns.

There has got to be a way to discourage people from getting a firearm, period.

Look, I am no expert on this subject, but perhaps our laws should make it so difficult to get a gun that it makes people not want to have one, if for no other reason than it is so hard to get.

And perhaps we need a national gun law. There is no reason why one state has a tough law, and the state next door has a lax one. The whole process needs to be uniform in every state in the Union.

Whether it be an excruciating long waiting time, or perhaps incredibly high fees for a gun, something must be done to discourage even law-abiding citizens from wanting to have a firearm in their possession.

And sorry, hunters and other sportsman who use guns for thrills. I don't have any pity for your plight if stricter gun laws are enacted.

Illegally obtained firearms is another topic for another time.

But those obtaining them legally--what is in their heads? Why do they think they need to have a gun?

That must be studied, and something must be done about it.

I simply do not get it at all.