Murder / Suicide in Dearborn Michigan

Microdot, who really has his ear to the ground, alerted me to this latest sad story just minutes after it hit the internet. CNN reports that in a small community college in Dearborn Michigan, a young man killed a woman with a shotgun then turned the gun on himself.

A man and woman were found dead in a classroom building on the campus of Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn Deputy Chief Gregg Brighton said.

Investigators believe the man shot the woman but would not provide further information, Brighton said.

A shotgun was involved in the incident, which occurred in a classroom that was not being used, he said.

It's difficult to muster the usual cries for gun control when the weapon used is a shotgun. I imagine the old standby weapon, the one that's truly as American as apple pie, would be the last to be restricted in any way. So what can be done about cases like this? How can we prevent these types of incidents, the shotgun killings, from happening? Whom can we blame for this one?

Well, I have some ideas about that. First of all, one of the problems here is the mentality that says "shooting it dead" is a viable option. This has become so pervasive in our society that it's not even noticed any more. The mentally disturbed person, and I mean that in the broadest possible way, at times cannot distinguish between a conflict situation that merits a direct attack and one that requires some subtlety of negotiation or compromise.

I see this in our friends who insist that carrying a gun is the answer to - to what? To the infinitesimal possibility that one day they'll be confronted with a life-or-death situation and having a gun at hand will save the day? As soon as a person opts for this solution, their immediate world is changed. They, by constraint, must look at every person and every situation with suspicion, continually searching for untoward behaviour. To do anything less would be irresponsible. They have to be continually ready to determine if a situation requires armed intervention.

The proverbial hippies who lived in communes in Northern California in the 60s had a better grip on life. And they made a better contribution. As unrealistic as their worldview was, it's a far cry better than the one that says carrying a gun is the answer. And I mean carrying a gun in one's daily life, where the chances of being threatened are practically nil, or carrying one onto campus to resolve a conflict with your girlfriend.

What's your opinion? Should shotguns be banned? That's a joke.

What do you think about the statement of Marjorie Swan, vice president and controller of the college.

"Our hearts go out to the family and the friends of the young woman who lost her life today," Swan said.

Isn't something missing there? Isn't the young shooter as much a victim as the girl he shot? Didn't we as a society fail him in some way? Now, what, are we writing him off as someone who committed a crime? If he'd lived he'd merit the death penalty I suppose, and dead, he gets only our opprobrium. Is that it?

My heart goes out to both victims and their families. My heart goes out to the other 100 people, give or take, who lost their lives to gun violence yesterday.

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