I admire your sentiments Nate, and I respect your need to write about this in your efforts to come to terms with what happened. It hit me hard too. What I don't approve of is the editorializing about gun control. Saying that people who use tragedies like this one to push their own gun-control agendas deserve the same loathing as the killers themselves is a bit much, to say the least. Can you really blame people for wondering if stricter gun-control laws might be in order after an event such as this? I'm not claiming to have all the answers- I can see both sides. I'm a father, and a teacher, and I own firearms. There's a lot of grey that needs to be fully and honestly explored when it comes to gun violence in America. There are compelling arguments from both camps. I'm not sure where I stand, but I don't think that this is the time or the place to debate gun control.
I do like the idea of not publicizing the real names of mass killers. Based on psychological profiles of mass killers, in some cases, a desire for notoriety is one motivating factor. Perhaps if folks knew up front that they wouldn't be immortalized for their heinous, cowardly, selfish acts of violence, they would think twice. Anything to dissuade even one would-be killer from taking the final step would be worthwhile, IMHO.
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