Yes, it would be nice if the United States could figure out a way to keep more weapons from the hands of mass murderers. Restricting the manufacture of rapid-fire pieces that have nothing to do with hunting or protection might be a place to start.
But everyone knows there’s no political will for that kind of debate. And the Second Amendment, which declares that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, is a durable part of the U.S. Constitution. Its protections should be taken no less lightly than those of the First Amendment, which guarantee freedom of religion and of the press.
So the people in charge will continue to send their thoughts and prayers to the families of those killed in mass shootings, such as the one this week at a high school in Florida, while at the same time accepting campaign donations from organizations determined to prevent any common-sense gun discussion.
The latest troubled suspect is a 19-year-old who had been expelled from the school that got attacked. Both his parents had died recently, which had to have affected his emotional state. Some teenagers who knew him actually predicted he would one day start shooting at the school. If the charges against the young man are accurate, his peers were frighteningly correct.
The wrong reaction to the attack is for people to throw up their hands and say that gun laws prevent these predators from being stopped. These killers are a greater danger to public safety than any foreign-born terrorist. Our country has every incentive to figure out how to prevent attacks like this.
The proper thing to do is to acknowledge the political limitations to the gun debate, and then look around for places where weapons are less of a threat. According to an analysis in The Washington Post, those places are in Europe.
The story by Rick Noack reports on two countries that have been successful in preventing mass shootings: Switzerland and Germany. Neither is a perfect comparison with the United States, but the countries obviously are doing something right.
Switzerland is fascinating because it has the world’s third-highest ratio of firearms per person — an estimated 45 guns for every 100 residents. The only places with a higher figure are the African nation of Yemen and the United States.
Despite high Swiss ownership of guns, there has never been a school shooting in the country. The Post said this is because military service is mandatory for Swiss men, which in effect allows for an excellent psychological profile. Also, the government performs a weeks-long background check on anyone else who wants to buy a weapon.
“Swiss authorities have a list of about 2,000 individuals they suspect of being willing to commit shootings,” the Post reported. “All of them are frequently approached by authorities, along with psychologists, and are forced to hand over their weapons immediately or are barred from purchasing new ones.”
Another effective way for Switzerland to spot potential problems is through its health insurance program, which gives schools access to psychologists and intervention teams.
Germany, after several years of school shootings, is adopting some of Switzerland’s measures. The Germans have greatly increased school funding for psychologists. Mental health tests are now standard for Germans younger than 25 who want to buy a gun.
It’s a place to start. But the United States has been doing the exact opposite. Our leaders are reducing mental health spending instead of putting more trained personnel where they can do some good.
So hold on to those thoughts and prayers. Save the gun rights debate for another day. If America’s leaders really want to do something about these horrible shootings, open the mental health purse strings — for teenagers and adults alike.
There are a lot of troubled people in our country. Those kids who predicted the Florida suspect would open fire are not unique. There are angry, confused and lost people in every school and every community. If a group of 17-year-olds could spot a potential threat, it will be easy for trained mental health professionals to see them, too — if they’re in place to look.
Jack Ryan is editor and publisher of the Enterprise-Journal in McComb. Reach him at publisher@enterprise-journal.com.
