11 October 2007

Contradictions, Like Facts, Are Funny Things

Irony . . . contradictions . . . they are truly funny things.

It is not unexpected that the gun banners are already talking about more stringent gun laws in the wake of the school shooting in Cleveland yesterday. Yet if you look in to this story more closely you learn from news reports that the school apparently had neglected to hire a security person to replace someone who had left the institution. You learn that the metal detectors at school entrances were used, according to news reports, sporadically. You learn that this kid, despite all his troubles, had repeatedly threatened other students quite vocally about killing people and burning the building. Thankfully, no one died as a result of his actions, though he took his own life. Still, in this gun-free -- supposedly safe -- zone, this kid got into what may have been an unsecure building and caused the tragedy.

And yet . . .

A college student at a institution of higher education affiliated with a church has been suspended for merely raising the question about the campus ban on concealed firearms. He also has been ordered to undergo a mental health examination before he can resume his education. The college, Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., says the student's emails were "threatening." The student contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights In Education (FIRE), which has been in touch with the college on behalf of the individual.

The contradictions . . . they keep 'a-coming. Still developing . . .

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