4-17-07, 9:14 am

In the wake of the tragedy that took the lives of 33 people and brought terror to the Virginia Tech campus, President Bush rushed to politicize the event.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters that 'As far as policy, the President believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed.'

Ultra right-wing websites like WorldNetDaily immediately launched a demand for more guns, removal of any prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons, and described the White House's decidedly pro-gun response as 'feminine' and as 'lets-squeeze-a-teddy-bear.' One columnist for the website refused to consider the mass killing a tragedy and urged putting more guns into private hands. 'Let's roll,' the commentator stated in true vigilante fashion.

Other supporters of the concept of more people with guns, such as the wealthy and influential lobbying group Gun Owners of America, claim that violence like this would be curbed by allowing more guns on the streets, on campuses, in classrooms and workplaces, and so on.

Over the next few days, following its typical irresponsible course, the US media is likely to whip up a lot of hysteria about immigrant students and finger-pointing about whether the university administration or its police force are more to blame. Meanwhile serious underlying issues about the nature of gun violence in America will likely go little discussed.

Expressing condolences to the families and friends of the victims, a press release on the website of the Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a national campaign to pass sensible gun laws and to educate the public about gun violence, noted the ease with which Americans can purchase guns. 'We have now seen another horrible tragedy that will never be forgotten. It is long overdue for us to take some common-sense actions to prevent tragedies like this from continuing to occur,' the statement read.

Details about the motives of the massacre at Virginia Tech are still being investigated, but early witness reports indicate that domestic violence may lie at the heart of the beginning of the events.

According to statistics compiled by the Brady Campaign from academic studies and law enforcement sources, gun violence is a key element of domestic violence. Over half of family murders are caused by firearms, and firearm assaults are more than 12 times as likely to result in death than violence without guns involved.

Women take the brunt of domestic violence when guns are involved. In 2002, more than 4,400 women were killed with handguns. Almost one-third of these were killed by current or former intimate partners. It also appears that the presence of a firearm in the family home makes it far more likely that a domestic violence incident will end in gun violence and homicide.

In fact, it is about 83 times more likely that a hand-gun will be used against a woman by a current or former intimate partner than used by the woman in self-defense during a violent attack by that partner.

Meanwhile proponents of guns have spent millions to oppose laws that would require lengthier and more thorough background checks or that would prohibit possession of or selling a firearm to a person under a restraining order by his or her current or former intimate partner for abuse. They also oppose laws that would require the police to temporarily remove guns from the scene of domestic violence.

Such regulations, gun advocates insist, infringe on Second Amendment rights. In fact, the gun lobby has been on a nationwide campaign to weaken state gun regulatory laws. They have backed proposed 'shoot first' laws in Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico and Texas that would legalize the use of deadly force with guns by private citizens even when one's life isn't in danger.

In Washington, the gun lobby is fighting proposed legislation to increase the length of background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows to ten days. And in Pennsylvania, Democratic Governor Ed Rendell is urging the state legislature to pass a bill that would stop the bulk purchase of handguns.

In Colorado just this past week, supporters of sensible gun regulations fought off attempts by the gun lobby to shred a public database of people who possess licenses to carry concealed weapons. Law enforcement officials say that maintaining the database is a crucial tool in investigating and solving domestic violence crimes where handguns are used.

Spurred on by the gun lobby, Republican members of Congress are hoping to kill a bill that would make Washington, DC a state by attaching an amendment that would repeal some of the District's gun control laws.

This issue isn't about hunting or the rights of responsible people. This isn't about maintaining a militia in the event of invasion – the true letter and spirit of the Second Amendment – or even about defending ourselves against a dictatorial regime.

We didn't need handguns, 'shoot first' laws, or permits to carry concealed weapons to stop the assault on democracy – in the form of illegal wiretapping, mass invasion of privacy rights, domestic spying on political opponents, consent to torture, illicit prison camps all over the world, the PATRIOT Act abuses – leveled by the Bush administration against the people over the last five years. Voters of all political stripes stood together and defended democracy peacefully in November 2006.

This issue is about regulating and controlling the circulation of guns used in domestic violence incidents where thousands of people are killed each year. It is about taking time to check to see if someone who intends to purchase a gun has committed a crime or to see if a current or former intimate partner has lodged a complaint of abuse or potential abuse against the gun customer before selling him or her a weapon. It is about ensuring that law enforcement officials have greater knowledge about who may be walking around on college and high school campuses, sitting in classrooms or in workplaces, or roaming the streets with guns.

It is unfortunate that it takes a mass killing like the one that took the lives of so many young people at Virginia Tech or at Columbine High School to have a rational discussion about regulating guns.

--Joel Wendland is managing editor of Political Affairs and can be reached at

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