Yesterday, for the third time in a week, young people were shot to death in a school. This time, four girls are dead and seven more in critical condition following a shooting rampage in an Amish school in Pennsylvania...a horrible act made even more tragic by the fact that there are few people more peaceful and good-natured than the Amish.

Predictably, your government is springing into action on this issue: CNN reports that the administration will host a conference next week "to discuss the recent string of school violence across the country."

Where I come from, this is what we call hooey.

Consider the common thread in each of these tragic incidents - guns. Although each of the perpetrators was reported to have carried other weapons such as knives and stun guns, the deaths were all caused by shooting. The problem, it seems to me, is the ready availability of guns and the easy killing power they provide.

I know that there's no more deadly third rail in political discourse than any mention of "gun control," but I also know that any discussion of what to do about school violence...and violence in general...must include a clear-eyed discussion of the gun issue.

In the coming weeks, I plan a series of posts here on the topic of gun violence and measures to control it, but I need to do some research first so that I don't just waste your time with a bunch of emotional and one-dimensional arguments. For instance, I want to know:
- What does the Constitution actually say about the right to "bear arms?"
- What was the context within which the famous Second Amendment was considered and drafted?
- What else did the Founders write that may help us understand what they intended?
- Has the development of society made it necessary to rethink the blanket freedom granted by the Second Amendment?

So stand by while I think this over, and I'll offer my thoughts later. For now, though, it occurs to me that the absolute minimum measure we ought to take right now is a simple one: a very heavy mandatory sentence, without possibility of parole, for the use of a firearm in the commission of any crime. I can't imagine even the most rabid gun rights supporter arguing against that one.

But I'm sure someone will.

Have a good day. More comments later.

Bilbo