After Virginia Tech Shootings, We Must Question Our Culture

"Today, we are a grieving and shocked nation. Violence has once again taken too many young people from this world. In Blacksburg, they were daughters. They were sons. They were our nations new leaders. We mourn them. We will miss them, and we pray for their families and the injured fighting for their lives." --Barack Obama

Today's horrific mass shooting at Virginia Tech university is a sobering reminder that we live in a nation seeped in violence and bloodshed.

Violence of this magnitude invariably leaves people scrambling for answers. What would drive someone to such a violent act? What is at the root of this awful pattern? How can we prevent tragedies like this from happening again?

As is customary at a time like this, the gun control debate is brewing, but with a new twist. Reports indicate that the Virginia Tech shooter was armed with a 9 mm handgun and a 22 caliber pistol, hardly the heavy-duty assault weaponry at the heart of most gun control debates.

Our leaders will evaluate their gun control positions and make their statements.

If any good can come out of this heinous killing, perhaps it will be that our policy makers will stop focusing on the kind of guns that killers are using in this country, and instead focus on the kind of killers that our culture is breeding.