Jason Baran

This campus was shocked by the eruption of violence at the College of Nursing. Within hours, the rumbles began to be heard.

The volleys fired by advocates of stringent measures to remove firearms from American soil miss their mark.

Many of these well-intentioned activists argue that because guns are used to kill people, guns should be banished from Earth in order to protect the citizenry ÷ particularly children ÷ from meeting an early end. Bad people use guns to do bad things to good people ÷ and often to other bad people. Children shoot themselves or their friends, and they die.

Without question, the health and well-being of children, decent folks and the general public are very important matters. They deserve the attention of elected officials, advocacy groups and neighborhood organizations; but the root of the problem is not the gun itself.

Behavior is the key. More correctly put, responsible adult behavior is the key.

Though clichˇd and not entirely accurate, the phrase "Guns don't kill people. People kill people" has a modicum of truth. The gun is, by most reasonable accounts, an inanimate object. Without external manipulation, it is an unmoving hunk of metal and plastic without will. The danger lies in the person who uses it.

While that danger may be either malicious, inadvertent or something in between, it is almost always avoidable. The danger is a product of environment and socialization. People must be instilled with a sense of reasonable behavior by their parents and community. A proper and deep respect for the destructive potential of a firearm must be cultivated from the earliest moments of life.

One need not fear the gun; rather, one must understand fully the consequences of its use. This is certainly not to imply that every person should have a gun, nor should everyone rely solely on hunter safety courses to fulfill the understanding of a weapon requisite for safety and responsibility. Both are absolutely not true. Not everyone should have access to weapons. Felons and those with mental or emotional conditions that interfere with reasonable behavior ought not to be in possession of guns.

The issue, really, is the development of reasonable individuals. The goal of our society should be to turn out reasonable, responsible adults because those people are less likely to cause problems for the rest of us. Responsible individuals of solid character aren't the ones causing troubles with guns. The troublemakers, who give the gun abolitionists their ammunition, are people engaged in activities they shouldn't be as adults. Be it drug trafficking, road rage, or firing in the air for the New Year, these activities are unreasonable and unacceptable. More importantly, these activities are caused by humans, often aided by substance abuse, not firearms. These people should be prosecuted fully and heavily for their failure to behave. These failures that lead to firearm misuse amount to poor decision making augmented by poor socialization. This is the very same socialization that condones substance abuse and any number of other disruptive behaviors.

Let's not forget about those poor children who pick up guns and shoot themselves when nobody is looking. It's sad anytime a small child is maimed or killed when using a gun. The problem is, again, a matter of responsible behavior. Somewhere along the line, an adult responsible for that firearm didn't fulfill his duties in removing access to the gun and in developing the proper respect for it.

The system that produces safety breaks down when these duties are neglected. Sometimes kids manage to break through defenses; clearly, there is more to safety than locks.

Guns pose a real danger in the hands those ill-equipped to manage the accountability inherent in the possession of a weapon.

The way to deal with this danger is to develop, in a social structure, individuals capable of handling the responsibility. By promoting responsibility and good behavior, we can reduce this negative impact of firearms. Additionally, that newfound responsibility and reason will carry over into other realms and produce a more pleasing and safe society.

Behavior control hits the bull's eye that gun control misses.