A Timely Warning !

Another multiple gun death tragedy in the United States - and it seems that the killer was a young man who " had it all " !   Elliott Roger (22) was the son of a successful Hollywood movie director.   He had a new black BMW and access to that city's A list and red carpet social activities - but festering below the surface was a black rage because he was " unsuccessful " with women.

Sadly, several people were alarmed and reported that he was " dangerous " to the police.  He was interviewed - and presented a sunny disposition that caused professionals to deem him " harmless " - and then in a ten minute spree he shot six people dead, knifed three men to death and wounded a further thirteen - and then killed himself with his own gun.

Hindsight always has 20-20 vision.   Roger must have had a personality disorder that made him repulsive to women.   He was still a " virgin " at 22 and it is claimed that he had never even held a girl's hand, let alone shared a kiss.   The sight of normal relationships between couples of a similar age both enraged and embittered him - and eventually he " snapped " and took revenge on the society he was convinced had wronged him.

There are lessons to be learned - both here and in the United States - from this incident, but the American gun culture is unlikely to change.   The American constitution guarantees the right to bear arms and there are actually more hand guns in the United States than people, hence many must have multiple guns.    The powerful National Rifle Association intends to keep it that way.

Here in Australia we have a much stricter gun control.   After the Port Arthur massacre tightened rules saw a sharp decline in the number of long arms in the hands of the public - and hand guns were a rareity until very recent times.  Gun smuggling is now a profitable crime and we are seeing evidence of the proliferation of hand guns on an almost daily basis.   A gun culture has emerged that sees homes being shot up to deliver warnings and new criminal elements now protect their home turf with a hail of bullets.

It seems inevitable that the Australian crime scene will continue to deteriorate and hand guns become more prevalent - unless we crack down nationally and make illegal possession of a hand gun a crime that ensures a long stint in prison.   It will take a significant " fear factor " to persuade the crime gangs that getting caught with a hand gun is too extreme a risk - to even contemplate.    Just having a gun should invoke a more severe punishment that most other forms of crime - and that will impose a sharp rise in prison costs, but it is the price we have to pay if we want to eradicate gun crime in this country.

The other basic need is better training of both the police and the medical profession to deal with the psychopaths lurking in our society.  In too many cases the warnings have been there for a long time before tragedy strikes - and an adequate early response is a better option  than an enquiry chaired by the coroner.