Two Dead In Florida Restaurant Shooting

By Cernig

Yet another mass shooting, with two dead and five injured, this time at a Wendy's restaurant in Palm Beach, Florida.

A gunman burst into a Wendy's restaurant at lunchtime in Florida today, killing one person and injuring five others before killing himself, officials said.

...The mayhem unfolded just after noon during the lunch hour rush. Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller said the shooter entered the restaurant and went to a restroom before coming out brandishing what appeared to be a 9 mm handgun.

The gunman went to the counter, Miller said, shooting a customer before slowly turning to his left and firing on others before shooting himself.

About 10 to 15 people were believed to be in the restaurant at the time of the shooting, Miller said.

Florida has some of the most relaxed gun laws in the country, and one in 45 people in Palm Beach has a concealed-carry permit. Wendy's doesn't serve alchohol and so I believe that under Florida's current laws it would be OK for diners there to have been carrying their own guns, although I may be mistaken.

One local Republican has been campaigning to relax the laws even further to allow guns at "restaurants that serve alcohol, youth athletic events that are not held at schools (think Little League games), airport parking lots, churches and any government building not considered "offices," including libraries and recreation centers." Cops however, want tighter laws.

I usually say I won't make political points after such indidents, out of respect for the victims - but it's getting to the point where by the time I've let a reasonable time go by there's been another of these incidents. Isn't it about time that America admitted that guns don't kill people - but they certainly help people kill people. Last year Scotland was branded the most violent nation in Europe and murders jumped by 20%, leading to outcry and outrage. Yet San Antonio had one more murder than the whole of Scotland during 2007, with a population a third the size. The difference is that it's simply easier, psychologically, to pull a trigger from feet away than to get up close and personal. Stop making it easier to get a hold of these easier killing tools.