There was another school shooting in Florida this week. Seventeen people are dead that shouldn’t be. And the usual questions are being asked.

What did we miss? What drove this person to commit such a horrible act? What could we have done to prevent this? What new laws should be passed?

The TV pundits will take to the airwaves fighting for sound bites from families and survivors alike. Something must be done but there’s little change put in force at either the local or federal level.

Are More Guns The Answer

In 2014 a Gallup poll found that 60 percent of Americans believe having a gun in the home makes it safer. This figure has almost doubled since 2000.

The other side of the ledger says that guns in the home increase the risk of homicide, suicide or instances of accidental shootings.

Additional studies find that for every successful home defense with a gun there are, seven assaults, 11 suicide attempts, and four accidental shootings.

Protection Or Enablement?

Guns are a tool. Used improperly they are just as deadly as a knife, ball bat, or automobile.

If you’re suicidal, does a gun in the home just make that easier, or if there’s no gun would a rope or a jump off a bridge suffice?

Shooters always look for soft targets. Not a lot of shootings at gun shows or police stations.

Most shooters are looking for the lowest possible chance of return fire. Do the most damage before taking your own life or sucide by police seems to be the end result of most shootings.

The Florida shooting is a rare instance where the shooter was taken alive. Perhaps we can learn from him how to more quickly identify the warning signs or thinking process that resulted in 17 dead.

Would Guns In Bozeman Schools Help?

There’s no good answer to that question. Every situation and every person is different.

A teacher, well trained in gun use, could possibly save many lives. In other instances he or she might be the first one shot and the massacre continues until law enforcement arrives.

Some Final Thoughts

There are a lot of guns in Montana. I have always felt safe in movie theatres, shopping malls, gas stations, or public gatherings because I believe there are about 10 people near me that are packing heat.

That might be my own false sense of security, but if I feel that way, I hope a potential shooter might think the same thing.

The belief that a gun is present is just as much of a deterrent as an actual gun being present.

John Dillinger, gangster of the 1930s, escaped jail by carving a gun out of a bar of soap and making it black with shoe polish.

Was it a real gun? No one wanted to find out. Would you? Comments below.