Ain146;t a Moore moment

Monday8217;s incident at a Virginia college is the United States8217; deadliest campus shooting so far. Each time such an incident occurs, that country finds in the collective grief an impetus to reflect on the unique place of gun rights in America8217;s sense of individual rights drawn from its founding constitution. That uniqueness is best shown by contrast with how most other countries would react to spates of shooting by disturbed or alienated youth. Australian Prime Minister John Howard has, for instance, reacted by recalling how a similar incident in his country immediately brought a tightening of gun control laws. For the US, the connection tends to be a little less straightforward, and do not be surprised if coming days bring a burst of introspection on the components of liberty.

By way of example, just this year in Washington, DC, the ban on bearing handguns was lifted after the courts dismissed the local authorities8217; reservations. The courts subscribed to the argument that the right accorded in the second amendment to bear arms applies to individuals too and cannot be limited to 8220;militia service8221;. It is this recourse to constitutional guarantees that makes the prospect of gun control much more daunting than merely doing battle with the powerful National Rifle Association. If anything, the gun rights consensus may have become that much more difficult to dent in recent years. One, with nominations by the Bush administration, the Supreme Court has a conservative majority. Two, in any case, the view that bearing guns is an individual right has support among many Democrats too.

In the United States8217; moment of sadness, then, it would be foolish to do a Michael Moore and lampoon from the outside the gun rights lobby. Blacksburg 8212; where Monday8217;s incident occurred 8212; comes as a tragic reminder to that country that it cannot postpone much longer a relook at certain dimensions of what makes America different. This has already begun, with reassessment, for instance, of policies of affirmative action and eminent domain. The argument on gun control too will be waged most effectively in terms of principles of liberty. Those are the questions on which the District of Columbia court did away with curbs on bearing arms. Against the grim Virginia background America needs to weigh individual liberty against some of its consequences.