# What the hell is wrong with things in this country? Yet another school massacre! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 22, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688 "2005-03-22T05:41:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688/81 "2005-03-23T23:25:55Z")
> [@roger thornhill](#): > > But are explosives so readily and legally available as guns in the States? The 2nd Amendment refers to arms, as I recall. It’s my understanding that that doesn’t include explosives in the sense of bombs. > > Any definitive rulings on this? Explosives are readily available (some assembly required) at grocery stores, hardware stores, gas stations, nurseries (plant type), etc. While I can’t presently recall any definitive _court_ rulings, the courts have recognized the difference between “arms” and “ordnance” on several occasions. Explosives and explosive devices almost invariably fall into the second category, and thus don’t receive Constitutional protection. As far as **Apos** goes: While the 2nd Amendment may (or may not) guarantee and individual right to keep and bear arms, no right is absolute. Current federal regulations prohibit the possession of long guns (rifles and shotguns) to anyone under the age of 18, and handguns to anyone under the age of 21. Jeff Weise had no 2nd Amendment rights to exercise. Git. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688/82 "2005-03-26T09:14:27Z")
The NRA has finally sounded off on this massacre. Sandra Froman, who’ll probably be the next president of the NRA, says schools should now consider arming teachers. I don’t know about you, but if teachers were packing heat when I was in school, I’d have dropped out. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2005, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688/83 "2005-03-26T09:15:54Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > The NRA has finally sounded off on this massacre. > Sandra Froman, who’ll probably be the next president of the NRA, says schools should now consider arming teachers. So we can have even more bullets flying around, and more collateral damage. Great. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688/84 "2005-03-27T00:38:42Z")
Armed faculty in schools does not necessarily equate to “More Bullets” and more “collateral damage.” In the comparatively few cases of armed intervention by in mass shootings, the aggressors have simply given up when confronted by opposing force, most often without a shot having been fired. In the 1 October, 1997 shooting in Pearl Mississippi, it was Asst. Principal Joel Myrick who brought killer Luke Woodham to heel with the .45-caliber automatic pistol he kept in his truck. In the 17 January, 2002 shooting at the Appalachian Law School, two students, Mikael Gross and Tracy Bridges, confronted shooter Peter Odighizuwa after retrieving their handguns from their cars in the school parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688/85 "2005-03-27T02:56:31Z")
That’s “In the comparatively few cases of armed intervention by **faculty and students** in mass shootings,…” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688/86 "2005-03-29T02:43:26Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > \*n my opinion mass media is much more to blame than the country is. > > How many times have you heard of some random act of violence occurring only to have it repeated several more times around the country as a result of copycat crimes? Next time you hear of a rock being dropped on someone from an overpass, or bums being set on fire, or another occurance school shootings,ask yourself if the media’s sensationalism of the incident isn’t more to blame for its occurance. I personally would favor a voluntary media blackout on these kinds of things, but competive pressures, greed, and the fact that the media doesn’t really give a shit about what happens to people as long as they can report it, will keep such a practice from ever being adopted. I thought this was spot on when I first read it, but a report in the local (HK) paper about the seriousness of the problem in Korea has prompted me to respond now. A beautiful Korean actress aged 24 killed herself on 22 February, apparently suffering from depression. Since then, the average number of suicides in the country has risen by 250% (in raw terms from six a week, to 15 a week). There has been a significant increase in the number of young people who are killing themselves since her death. Besides publication of details about the manner of her death, news media have a habit, according to the Head of the Korean Journalists’ Association, of disregarding guidelines on reporting suicides, specifically established to prevent copycat suicides. The guidelines that are routinely ignored include not giving graphic details of the scene and not speculating on the cause of death in detail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-things-in-this-country-yet-another-school-massacre/295688.md?page=4)