Everyone remembers the Virginia Tech shootings from last April...and we continue to send our thoughts and prayers to all those affected by the shootings, and to the families of the victims. But what really struck me was the at-times hysterical reaction to the entire thing from some pundits, especially in Europe. European newspapers argued that what happened at Virginia Tech demonstrated conclusively that America must ban semi-automatic assault weapons (even though the shooter didn't use that weapon); another said it was easier in America to get a machine gun than it is to secure a driver's license (not true); and a third suggested that gun violence continues to become more common in America (it isn't---it's been falling for over a decade). The respected analyst James Q. Wilson rounded all this up a few weeks ago---and added this: AS FOR THE European disdain for our criminal culture, many of those countries should not spend too much time congratulating themselves. In 2000, the rate at which people were robbed or assaulted was higher in England, Scotland, Finland, Poland, Denmark and Sweden than it was in the United States. The assault rate in England was twice that in the United States. In the decade since England banned all private possession of handguns, the BBC reported that the number of gun crimes has gone up sharply. Some of the worst examples of mass gun violence have also occurred in Europe. In recent years, 17 students and teachers were killed by a shooter in one incident at a German public school; 14 legislators were shot to death in Switzerland, and eight city council members were shot to death near Paris.
Something to remember.
