This is a probably a very controversial statement in wake of the tragic events at Virginia Tech this week, but I feel that it must be said. I also feel that it must be said because I just finished watching the movie Bowling For Columbine, which addresses the shooting at Columbine High School in the late 1990’s, and it really asks a very good question: why are there so many gun-related deaths in the United States?

These two tragedies actually have little to do with gun rights or gun control. I have many liberal beliefs, but I do not believe that gun control could have prevented these tragedies. I believe that the following factors may have played a significant role in the lives and attitudes which led these young people to commit such horrific crimes:

• Societal Influences: No, this is not about violent movies and video games. What I’m talking about is leading by example. The United States government has long led many military campaigns (including the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). Scenes of war and violent crime are constantly being broadcast on the nightly news and across the Internet. I think people are smart enough to distinguish the fiction of video games and movies from the reality of news media telling people, “If the US government does it, then it must be okay”.
• Mental Health Issues: In both tragedies, mental health issues appeared to have played a role. Mental health in the United States is often not given very much attention. In fact, I believe some people in our society are looked down upon and isolated simply because they are suffering from mental illness. As a personal example, when I was not covered by an employer-sponsored healthcare plan, I could not get coverage for mental health. At that time, I was also in need of treatment for depression, but my insurance wouldn’t cover it. I let the depression go untreated for several months before it got to a point where I was no longer able to function at work and had to seek help at my own expense.
• Personal Responsibility: While the first two bullet points are indicative of societal conditions, they do not excuse personal responsibility. I feel that all too often Americans do not take personal responsibility and in turn feel that their problems are someone else’s problem. The shooters at Columbine and Virginia Tech are responsible for their own actions. They committed the crime and there are consequences. Their actions cannot be blamed on lack of gun control or violence in the media.

There’s a lot of blame and finger pointing surrounding these tragedies, and I’m not trying to make any one or any group of people wrong about what happened. I’m simply pointing out what I see as the factors which led to the tragedies, and I feel that these are factors that we as Americans need to take a hard look at.