What does it take?
Another day, another gun-toting maniac on a rampage in a US university. This time, it became a little more significant to me because it occured just 100 kms down the road from the campus where a good friend is studying a PhD in politics.
In Australia, it took just one man and 35 lives to change our gun laws. Let’s have a quick look at Wikipedia’s list of school shootings (note, school shootings only) that have occured in the recent history of the USA:
| Name | Location | Date/Year |
|---|---|---|
| University of Texas at Austin massacre | Austin, Texas, United States | August 1, 1966 |
| Orangeburg Massacre | Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States | February 8, 1968 |
| Kent State shootings | Kent, Ohio, United States | May 4, 1970 |
| Jackson State killings | Jackson, Mississippi, United States | May 14-15, 1970 |
| California State University, Fullerton Library Massacre | Fullerton, California, United States | July 12, 1976 |
| Cleveland Elementary School shooting | San Diego, California, United States | January 29, 1979 |
| Parkway South Junior High School shooting | Saint Louis, Missouri, United States | January 20, 1983 |
| Stockton massacre | Stockton, California, United States | January 17, 1989 |
| University of Iowa shooting | Iowa City, Iowa, United States | November 1, 1991 |
| Simon’s Rock College of Bard shooting | Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States | December 14, 1992 |
| Lindhurst High School shooting | Marysville, California, United States | May 1, 1992 |
| East Carter High School shooting | Grayson, Kentucky, United States | January 18, 1993 |
| Richland High School shooting | Lynnville, Tennessee, United States | November 15, 1995 |
| Frontier Junior High shooting | Moses Lake, Washington, United States | February 2, 1996 |
| Bethel High School shooting | Bethel, Alaska, United States | February 19, 1997 |
| Pearl High School shooting | Pearl, Mississippi, United States | October 1, 1997 |
| Heath High School shooting | West Paducah, Kentucky United States | December 1, 1997 |
| Jonesboro massacre | Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States | March 24, 1998 |
| Parker Middle School Shooting | Edinboro, Pennsylvania | April 24, 1998 |
| Thurston High School shooting | Springfield, Oregon, United States | May 21, 1998 |
| Columbine High School massacre | Littleton, Colorado, United States | April 20, 1999 |
| Heritage High School shooting | Conyers, Georgia, United States | May 20, 1999 |
| Buell Elementary School shooting | Mount Morris Township, Michigan, United States | February 29, 2000 |
| Santana High School shooting | Santee, California, United States | March 5, 2001 |
| Granite Hills High School shooting | El Cajon, California | March 22, 2001 |
| Appalachian School of Law shooting | Grundy, Virginia, United States | January 16, 2002 |
| John McDonogh High School Shooting | New Orleans, LA, United States | April 14, 2003 |
| Red Lion Area Junior High School shootings | Red Lion, Pennsylvania, United States | April 24, 2003 |
| Rocori High School shootings | Cold Spring, Minnesota, United States | September 24, 2003 |
| Red Lake High School massacre | Red Lake, Minnesota, United States | March 21, 2005 |
| Campbell County High School shooting | Jacksboro, Tennessee | November 8, 2005 |
| Pine Middle School shooting | Reno, Nevada, United States | March 14, 2006 |
| Platte Canyon High School shooting | Bailey, Colorado, United States | September 27, 2006 |
| Weston High School shooting | Cazenovia, Wisconsin | September 29, 2006 |
| Amish school shooting | Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States | October 2, 2006 |
| Virginia Tech massacre | Blacksburg, Virginia, United States | April 16, 2007 |
| Delaware State University shooting | Dover, Delaware, United States | September 21, 2007 |
| SuccessTech Academy shooting | Cleveland, Ohio, United States | October 10, 2007 |
| Notre Dame Elementary shooting | Portsmouth, Ohio, United States | February 7, 2008 |
| Louisiana Technical College shooting | Baton Rouge, LA, United States | February 8, 2008 |
| Mitchell High School shooting | Memphis, TN, United States | February 11, 2008 |
| E.O. Green Junior High School shooting | Oxnard, CA, United States | February 12, 2008 |
| McNair High School shooting | Atlanta, GA, United States | February 12, 2008 |
| Northern Illinois University massacre | DeKalb, Illinois, United States | February 14, 2008 |
The mind boggles. Of course, as gun ownership is protected under the US constitution, nothing will change in the forseeable future. But until some action is taken, these shootings will continue like clockwork. Wake up America!
Only In America | stu | 
February 15, 2008 12:42 pm
3 Comments
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By Chapman S. Thompson
, February 15, 2008 @ 12:46 pm
But it’s in the constitution!
By Drew
, February 15, 2008 @ 9:51 pm
I think its pretty straight forward; every man has the right to a pair of bear arms, how could that be misconstrued?
By Joel
, February 19, 2008 @ 8:43 am
I think you need to add the body count there.