Most of them are common drug addicts and dope dealers. Some are Martha Stewart-types and her perp-walking sub-species from Wall Street, who just aren't happy with the first $100 million, so they steal a few percentage of a billion more, in search of satisfaction. Can you blame them?
But it takes a special kind of sickness to become a Seung-Hui or Charles Manson. Mass murderers are typically whacked out of their minds or maybe political pre-patriots with a desire to finding more victims to pump up the count. Kind of like those abacus-type things that hang over pool tables figuring out how many went down in the current rack.
If you're any good at mass murder you can nearly lose count.
Seung-Hui joins men like Albert DeSalvo, who had 13 murders before his forced retirement in 1964. Of course, there were many more such as Charles Whitman, 16 in 1966; Dean Corll, 27 in 1973; Edmund Kemper, 10 in 1973; and, Herbert Mullin, 13 in 1973.
The hit parade just starts there. Some of my faves: Ted Bundy, 22 in 1978; John Wayne Gacy, 33 in 1979; Henry Lee Lukas, 200 in 1983; and all-stars like Jeffery Dahmer; the Son of Sam; and those lovely boys at Columbine High.
Let's not forget one-hit wonders like: JFK-killer, Lee Harvey Oswald; Oswald-popper, Jack Ruby; RFK-gunman, Sirhan Sirhan; MLK-banger, James Earl Ray; Bad-shot, John Hinckley Jr., who almost killed Ronald Reagan, and John Lennon assassin, Mark Chapman.
Not all of these men used handguns and assault weapons, most did. Some carved them up Thanksgiving-style, like Jack The Ripper.
They had one thing in common. They lived under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, located in the Bill of Rights, which states:
"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Do you believe James Madison, George Mason, and other authors of the Bill of Rights, and those who ratified it in 1791, were counting on a big day at Virginia Tech by Seung-Hui? If so, then tote your gun outside and hope you don't do something too vice-presidential, like shooting your buddy in the face.
However, if you believe our founders were scared of another Red Coat invasion; of our own new federal government; or, the possibility of a stray grizzly bear roaming into the wood-stove kitchen - threats centuries gone - you might want to invest 39 cents before postal rates rise again, and tell somebody who probably doesn't give a damn to do something about the horrific problem of handgun deaths which number more than 30,000 annually. Who knows, maybe your Congressman and Senator are interested in doing something about it, but it's doubtful.
For certain there are guarantees to "bear arms." But nothing says you can own assault weapons or hallow bullets. There are many types of fully automated weapons which are outlawed. Ever try buying a Thompson 1928 Full Automatic or a Thompson M1? Well, you can't - so therein lies the precedent.
Come to think of it there's a guarantee to arms, but none for ammunition. That's the viable loophole to rid society of these killing machines. And, a good one at that as law abiders rarely use their ammo, while busy gang-bangers will be out of bullets in short order.
