The recent shootings at Northern Illinois University seems to have exposed some weird thinking. People seem to be shocked that a madman would choose to carry weapons into areas that are declared as weapons-free zones.
Get real, folks.
Just because an area--such as a university campus--are declared as weapons-free zones, it definitely doesn't make those areas weapons-free. Closed campuses, metal detectors, security people and searches of bags/persons do.
And passing more laws to restrict the presence of guns in areas that they're already banned in won't help, unless those laws mandate physical steps to be taken, like the steps mentioned above--with full funding. Preventing disasters like Columbine, Virginia Tech and NIU will be complex and expensive.
As we've learned through bitter experience, the key to stopping a homicidal maniac is to stop them at the point of action...in other words, putting a stop to them at the front gate or front door before they penetrate any deeper and have access to large numbers of people.
Many colleges and universities began upgrading their warning systems after last year's slaughter at Virginia Tech; these are very good first steps. Reverse-911 systems and the like definitely save lives.
But the public shouldn't be all that surprised that the weapons-free zones that politicians push to have made into law fail in practice. People carrying weapons into these zones probably happens more than anyone realizes or would care to admit.
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