When I was in high school, back in the 60's, you could open almost any hunting magazine and find full page ads selling all types of
World War 2 and Korean War surplus. There were lots of fully functional weapons, such as M1 carbines, 1911 .45 pistols, and tons of ammo, all dirt cheap. All you needed to do was send in the order form, mark a little box stating that you were of legal age, and enclose a check to cover the purchase price and the shipping. No background check or any proof of age, residency status---nothing at all. I bought my first rifle that way, a 1917 Enfield in 30-06. I was 14. My two hunting buddies bought M1 carbines, 30 round banana magazines, and an entire crate of ammo. Another buddy of mine bought a .45 pistol and a crate of ammo. Lots of other outdoors-types at my school bought all sorts of firearms the same way. I then bought my first 22 rifle, a Remington 514, by walking into Montgomery Wards and laying about 20 bucks on the counter. I could have purchased an M1 carbine but it was out of my price range. No waiting period, no background check of any kind, no questions asked. I was still 14.
That was in the Imperial Valley and those of us who drove cars to school and parked in the school parking lot routinely had shotguns and ammo in the trunk during bird season and rifles or handguns to go plinking with after school. Firearms were everywhere and almost all the guys I hung out with owned multiple firearms and were pretty good shots.
So, considering the widespread ownership of sporting firearms among teens and the "no questions asked" availability of assault weapons originally designed solely for the purpose of killing people, how many school shootings were there back then?
Virtually none. And for those who think that an AR15 or a Glock is any more deadly than an M1 carbine or a 1911 .45 at close range, think again.
It's not that the weapons have changed, it's that we---as a society---have changed, and not for the better.
Will banning assault rifles solve the problem? Kids are smart, even ones who are mentally ill. They'll transition to pistols or the really smart ones will do a bit of research and figure out that a short barrel semi-auto shotgun filled with #4 buckshot can fire about 200 lethal projectiles in less than 5 seconds and it will fit nicely into a school backpack.
Wish I had a solution to this problem, but after a lifetime as a professional educator, I don't have a clue how we are going to stop school shootings, and neither do the politicians and neither does the media.
Single parent households, mental illness, social media bullying, widespread use of drugs, violent video games, guaranteed national fame if you kill enough students, dramatic increase in teen suicide---eliminate all of those and the school shootings will probably stop or at least be reduced significantly. But that will require the complete restructuring of our society and culture from top to bottom and that ain't gonna happen anytime soon.
[This is a long post, reminiscent of G..., I mean Larry. I also have some good recipes for coyote tartare and skunk fondue.]
