Editorial: It's about self-control

In the Columbine High School and Virginia Tech massacres, individuals who didn’t meet the legal requirements to obtain firearms were able to do so.

It’s naive and misguided to blame the indescribable pain, suffering and death these shooters unleashed solely on guns.

But, as the U.S. Supreme Court takes a new look at the Second Amendment, which guarantees our right to bear arms, a heated debate over gun control is taking place at water coolers and on editorial pages across the nation.

This is a healthy debate.

Each time a gunman walks through a school, claiming innocent lives, or a teenager guns down a convenience store clerk, we ask “Why?” Then the overlooked warning signs emerge: the perpetrator had a history of violence or serious mental problems, enjoyed violent video games, killed animals as a child ... the list goes on.

The weapons are just instruments for crime, not the cause.

As the U.S. Supreme Court applies a 21st century interpretation to the Second Amendment, state and local governments — and the rest of us —should take a look at what we can do to keep weapons out of the hands of would-be killers. Teaching children about gun safety and how to deal with violence on TV and in video games are pivotal. We also must learn to recognize and treat the early warning signs associated with a criminal mind.

A citizen’s role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution may be minimal, but we must find a way to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and people with serious psychological disorders. We also must teach our children responsibility and that violence is never the answer to life’s problems.

It’s easy to say that banning private ownership of firearms would solve one of the greatest social problems of our time. Eliminating the sick and depraved motivation behind doing harm with any kind of weapon is the hard part.

Until we do that, families will continue to suffer and ask “Why?”