I find it interesting that the reaction to the most recent shooting, as the others in the past, is to place all the blame on the weapon. Notice I wrote, 'weapon,' not 'gun.' I mean no disrespect to the victims and their families. Nor do I belittle the incident. However, weapons do not kill people, people do.

The War on Drugs has not reduced drug use and associated violence because the roots of drug use have been completely ignored, as has the war on diabetes, where the psychology of sedentary lifestyles and poor diet is ignored. In our modern society, we tend to ignore, deny, or disbelieve that most of our own ills and misfortunes originate deep in our own psychoses, and this dictates our often misguided and/or violent choices and behavior. Those that are mentally ill are often 'invisible' with no recourse for help until they act out, as in the recent tragedy.

We can ban guns, but, as the recent incident in China (on the same day as the one in the US) demonstrates, if an individual or group of people chooses violence, they will do so by any means available. We need to remove the veil of ignorance and denial and address the roots of violence, not the means by which it is enacted. Otherwise, we are only fooling ourselves and the 'invisible' dragon will continue to stalk us. 

'We have met the enemy, and it is us.'