Guns.

Surprisingly, I played some poker yesterday. I trebled my monthly result by winning $2200 over a thousand hands. This also brought me above 10k hands for the month. A pathetic output, but I am not worried about it at all, since I am focusing on thesis work this month. I also have other excuses such as socializing and some software problems. Any money I win is fine, but it is not my main priority this month.

I am sitting here with the spring sun shining brightly over the relatively peaceful city of Copenhagen, reading about the shooting of 32 college students in Virginia, USA. That is exactly 32 more fatalities than when the whole frickin' city of Copenhagen was ravaged by riots for three days in March.

Then I stumbled across some forum discussion on the subject, and I was shocked to find that this was not widely considered another blow to the liberal gun laws of the US. Some people are saying that if only MORE people had guns, they would have been able to kill the gun man early, probably reducing the number of dead. The mind numbing stupidity of this statement leaves me speechless. Almost. I hope I don't have to explain to the intelligent readers of this blog the logic failings of advocating free carrying of guns around school areas.

It occurred to me that the standard argument for gun carrying revolves around the logic that if 'they' (the bad guys) carry guns, 'we' (the good guys) should have the right to defend ourselves, also by carrying and using guns. It is a central part of American culture to defend yourself individually against adverse circumstances. Whether it be wild indians, an untamed country or a hostile social system, the idea is that each man fends for himself, and if he is skilled, smart and strong enough he will become president probably. At least this is my understanding. As it happens, it is a trade mark of pro gun advocates to discuss their own competence at gun handling.

What should be obvious is that everyone has the potential of being a 'bad guy' at some point under certain circumstances. If you don't want a society where everyone has to defend themselves from the destructive potential of everyone else, you must limit the destructive power of individuals. Guns kill people. The more guns you take off the street, the less people will be killed. It really shouldn't be very hard to understand.