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How to stop the killings
As a newspaper reporter and then an editor, I’ve written or edited my share of grisly stories. I’m not usually shocked by the depravity of mankind. Wednesday’s murder of Eve Carson, a UNC-CH senior, disturbed me, however.
When I Googled her name, there was a picture of stunningly beautiful young woman. She was the Student Body President. She was a Morehead Scholar. She was Phi Beta Kappa in political science and biology, preparing for medical school. She worked for a number of campus organizations helping people less fortunate.
That was sad enough but then my son, also a senior at Carolina, called. He knew her well enough to occasionally hang out, share a beer. She was a good person, fun, Andrew said. Eve Carson was probably a victim of random violence, that means it could have been my son dead or my daughter, a junior at Chapel Hill. That’s when it got me.
Imagine being a parent, sending your wonderful child off to a great university where he or she is brutally murdered. What kind of society are we living in? What can we do about it?
There have always been bad people out there. Now they all have guns. Not five or six-shot Saturday Night Specials but powerful, accurate 9 mm automatics that fire from a 14-shot clip. When will Congress or the General Assembly have the courage to outlaw handguns? That’s the obvious answer.
We pretend like we respect law enforcement but when they say, “Get the guns off the streets,” our elected officials say, “Oh, no. Can’t do that. It’s against the Right to Bear Arms!” The Second Amendment is the most debated amendment in the Bill of Rights because its interpretation is not clear. The federal courts can’t even decide. I say let people keep shotguns and rifles for hunting, sport or home protection. The only thing you use a 9 mm for is to kill people. Outlaw handguns. That’s the only way to eventually reduce the type of killings we have had at Virginia Tech, UNC or the streets of Rocky Mount.
Comments
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By Ken
March 6, 2008 7:09 PM | Link to this
Hi Mr. Woodin, Carolina has had more than its share of tragedies in the past and now. Guns/handguns? That’s a point we tried to drive home in last year’s election—Rocky Mount: too many ‘illegal’ guns in the wrong hands— not just a Rocky Mount area problem—throughout our country.
Any politician who tries to honestly work with anti-gun advocates most often meets up with major political war and defeat at the Hands of the National Rifle Association— a good organization, but they don’t take kindly to anything that smells of gun control—as many ‘former’ politicians have found out.
Like you say, there IS a big difference in the weapons being used in murders and those being used for law enforcement/self protection, and hunting/sport. The major difference is usually the ‘illegal’ gun trade with people having handguns that are not registered/licensed to them.
Coordinated crack-downs on illegal weapons activity involving resources of the ATF-Alcohol/Tobacco/Firearms agency focus on the illegal trade and cleaning up hot pockets in the country— looks like some ATF resources/consulting are helping in the Rocky Mount area recently. Much more of this could help all over our state.
UNC Chapel Hill? I never think of it as a violent place—always as a peaceful/liberal type place.
Around a dozen years ago or so, some parents in our community—Rocky Mount— lost children in a fire at Chapel Hill— just as tragic—and a loss that is behind us but won’t be forgotten.
Guns? I hope your newspaper and others in our state will aggressively promote having joint/coordinated state/federal/local law enforcement campaigns to go after illegal weapons. It needs to be done, one small thing to do in memory of anyone such as the young lady who was murdered.
Was an illegal weapon used in the crime? Time might tell on that one; if so, more the reason to bring focus on it.
I can read and feel your concern. While writing this last sentence, I heard the national news relating that ‘two colleges had girls shot and killed this week’ Auburn and UNC Chapel Hill.
Other murders in the Rocky Mount area recently were probably done with ‘illegal weapons.
Students need to look out for each other and try to ‘stay in safe places’.
By Mitzi
March 6, 2008 9:46 PM | Link to this
Mr. Woodin- Your comments as a parent are shared by many of us. Eve Carson’s death is tragic for ALL of us - it is as horrible as anything we could imagine. Like you, this hits too close to home. Thanks for your words of wisdom.
By Dave in Jawjuh
March 14, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this
Look, as a father of two young kids myself, I can certainly understand the apprehension a parent feels about unknown, ambiguous dangers in the world that could threaten one’s children while you’re not around to protect them.
But calling to “outlaw handguns” is as dangerous as it is naive. Criminals have little regard for the law by definition, so it’s unreasonable to expect that they would obey gun laws.
The only thing that such a ban would accomplish would be to make it more difficult for people like Eve Carson, or women in general, to defend themselves against psychopathic thugs that our criminal justice system has failed to keep off the streets. (Speaking of the trustworthy state.)
Law enforcement and police in general have disavowed any obligation to protect citizens from crime. They merely appear after the fact to put the perpetrators in jail, as in this case.
What sort of police presence would widescale crime prevention require, anyway? A cop on every street corner? Personally, I would never choose to live in such a society—nor would I want my children to grow up in such a world.
I would caution you not to let emotions cloud your rational judgment or appraisal of pragmatic reality.
Incidentally, given the context of the other 9 amendments in the “Bill of Rights,” it is safe to conclude that not only was the intention of the second amendment to confirm the people’s individual right to self-defense, but it was also a guarantee of a practical defense against tyranny of the state. They had just survived a bloody revolution against the tyrannical King George III, after all.
In your ideal world, if the only ones with guns are police (the government) and criminals, who’s going to help the disarmed populace when the state proves itself untrustworthy?
If the last seven years have taught us anything, it’s that the government does not always operate in the best interest of the citizens.
I respectfully ask you to reconsider the consequences of your recommendation.
Needless to say, if my kids were at Carolina suffering this same aftermath, I’d make sure that they were both equipped to protect themselves.
By Adam Dew
March 19, 2008 2:28 PM | Link to this
The age-old cliche “If you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns” is one that I believe in. I had an interesting conversation with a state trooper yesterday concerning retention of arrested criminals. To summarize his comments; The jail house operates with a revolving door. The message here is, what form of discouragement is in place? Would-be murderers are promised 3 square meals a day, an education if desired, and air conditioned quarters. All of which are paid for by taxpayers. Lesser criminals are usually released out on the streets too soon only to return to their old ways. What happened to the days of the chain-gang? Is society honestly at fault? Granted, individuals are a product of their environment. But to not hold them 100% accountable for their actions is as wrong as crimes committed.
If someone were to do an in-depth study on the “wild west” they would see that the murders depicted in Hollywood are more than an embellishment. Truthfully, people weren’t going around seeking victims to attack because of the foreknowledge that most carried, and could use a gun. Self-defense was considered honorable. However, that simply does not apply in todays society.
How do you stop the murders? No one can completely solve this issue. A good start would be to swiftly, and publicly punish the offenders to the full extent the law provides. We must send the message out that such actions will not be tolerated.
By Chris Davis
March 25, 2008 11:54 PM | Link to this
Mr Woodin,
Your comments, regarding a ban on handguns in your online blog, dated March, 6 2008, are a typical knee-jerk media response, when events like Columbine, Virginia Tech and the latest murder of UNC Student Body President Eve Carson occur. It’s always banning a particular item, albeit, drugs, knives and guns to prevent another tragedy from becoming reality.
Remember Prohibition? Prohibition was going to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America.
It was an abject failure, because it was unenforceable. Even though the consumption of alcohol decreased initially, it then skyrocketed soon after. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume, as much of it was homemade and not under quality control measures. Did Prohibition solve any of the social ills of that day? No. And yet, we still suffer those same social maladies.
So, you can see how outlawing handguns would not have much of an effect on violent crime, in general. True, it would show an initial decrease in gun-related crimes for a time, but not for long. Criminals are criminals, because they do not follow the law. Banning handguns as an additional means of protecting one’s self would serve to hamper law-abiding citizens and intrude on their rights.
Humans have the immense capacity for great compassion or great cruelty to their fellow man and will adapt to their environment. Soon, knife-related crimes rise. “Ban knives”, the people cry, “that will surely stop the violence!” Lo and behold, violent crimes with sticks, stones, even bare hands, begin to plague our progress to Utopia. People would say out of fear and ignorance, “Sever the hands of the people, lest they throttle the innocent in the dark of night.”
When man roamed the Earth in a primitive state, he killed with rocks and fashioned clubs from sticks or bones. Modern man perfected the process of killing a thousand-fold with long-range ICBMs, suitcase nukes and biological weapons that threaten all of humanity. We are pervasively aggressive to ourselves for a variety of reasons, but it boils down to a lack of respect and understanding for our fellow man.
The politicians, media, Americans and the rest of the world, continually, neglect the fact that strong parenting skills, dictated by good morals, ethics, personal responsibility and respect for our fellow man, are needed in civilized society. This is paramount, regardless of one�s socioeconomic class and would curb much of the violence you see happening today.
As Henry David Thoreau stated:
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” Banning handguns isn’t the solution, because you�re hacking at the branches. Understanding human nature and nurturing our spirits with love and respect for one another over time will surely strike the root.
Sincerely, Chris Davis