While you have a good point, I do not think weapons are the problem. People are the problem. In Europe and US they use guns, in the Middle East explosives and a mixture of both plus blades in Asia (with Japanese, AFAIR, predominantly using knives and sword for suck acts) .
Personally, I am all for strict laws regarding weapons and Germany has some very strict laws. Unfortunately, and that goes for every country, if you want to get your hands on some weapons: There is always the possibility of getting them. Either steal or buy them on the black market.

Unfortunately massacres like this are great selling points for the media and offer great opportunities for politicians to crawl back into the public eye and blame it it on whoever they like or brings the most votes.

Well we can't ban people, only educate them and then care for their mental and physical health. This is, if the political parties are willing to pay for things like, say, mental care for young children. From what I know political parties on the right are pretty lukewarm about things like that while at the same time having close connections to weapon manufacturing business.

While I think guns are not 100% of the problem, I wouldn't say that they are 0% of the problem either. The real figure is somewhere in between. And if by creating a very strict gun legislation or through a complete ban there would be a possibility of preventing even ~20% of school shootings, I would definitely consider it.

We live in a culture of violance. We celebrate violent conflict solving. Morals fail, idols are often misleading todayx, ethics are open for negotiation. Weapons and the access to them is a fetish for not just a few. Values get reduced to money. Displays of brutality fill TV, movie and computer screens 24/7.

Things like the massacre today are just the logical price for that kind of "culture".

Take away perspectives for a future worth to be experienced, and you will earn an attitude that also does not care for the present too much anymore - why should it if the future is not any promising?

If the parents let key the laying around the house it is their damn fault. You can get gun safes that use number combination locks, electronic locks or good ol' mechanical locks.
If they get their hands on weapons it is because the parents or the gun owner got sloppy and lazy.
It is the parents responsibility to educate their children in things like that and instill responsibility and respect to what weapons can do and how to handle them safely.

I grew up in Germany around weapons. My Dad was a hunter and al ot of his friends were hunters also. I knew where the weapons were and what kind of weapons he had. The only way I could get to them would have been to knock my parents out and steal the only key to them that was in the house. My father had his key in his view almost all the time. Even when they went to bed he took em with him.

Same here, I grew up in the country, my father had a couple shotguns, a deer rifle, and a pistol. He kept them in his closet. While the closet simply had an ordinary door, no locks, he had a superior security system. He told me not to mess with them. That's all it took. He trusted me, and I respected him.

My thoughts go out to the German families who have suffered this tragedy.

Well I suppose the society cannot function entirely based on a trust system. I mean in USA many people buy guns in the first place to keep safe from other people.

Full moon

http://kalender-365.de/lunar-calendar.php

Not only in the USA.

Well that dident take long

EU moves to tighten gun control

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090311/...ope_gun_laws_1

Im expecting to see something similar in US as well.

Gun laws are alrerady pretty tight in Germany now. And the theory exam is meant to scare people away. I have seen what ammount of material my father had to study when preparing for his WBK - and that was before they made the laws even tighter some years ago, in the wake of another school shooting.

I think that is a rcipe that could work to some degree: make the exams so tough that most people lose interest in even trying to engage with firearms, and that especially the easyminded get sorted out.

Precisely.

Besides, does anyone really think that tough gun laws will deter someone looking to shoot up a school? RIIIGHHT...

...we've seen how well outlawing drugs worked...

no words.:nope:

(regarding the events, not anyone's arguements)

That prohibition thing didn't work out very well, either.

Well yes but in USA in special out of the so called western industrial nations. The 'first world'.

My condolences.

Pity the gunman died or the USA could have sued him for infringement of copyright.