"Shortly after 10:30 AM Pacific time today, 9-1-1 dispatchers received reports of shots fired and casualties at the Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. This is another black mark for all Americans, as people around the world wonder what's going on in the 'land of the free.' It is our freedom that allows insane individuals to kill so many people. President Obama has delivered an impassioned anti-gun speech, but the mass murder today could not have been prevented by any legislation. Roseburg is about as normal as it gets, with a relatively simple lifestyle centered on family and community. It's also gun country and the rural setting means folks must protect themselves with firearms, as police protection is far away for many people. As a journalist, it pains me to report stories like this because I know how much personal damage is caused to the people and families affected by murder. We are living in a very dangerous time where deranged human beings feel murder is an entitlement, and the situation has now reached the crisis stage as America desperately searches for some kind of solution."

The Factor pursued the tragedy with Oregon reporter David Jaques. "There are reports that a man placed a warning yesterday that something like this was going to take place," Jaques reported. "We also have reports that the shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christians. If they said yes, they were shot in the head. If they said no, they were shot in the leg or not shot at all." Jaques portrayed Roseburg as an idyllic town in a bucolic setting. "This is an ideal community for families. It's a small community based on timber and agriculture, and we have a burgeoning wine industry. This is a wonderful and scenic part of the country."

The Factor spoke with Marilyn Kittelman, whose son was on campus when the carnage began. "I got a call saying there was a shooting," she said, "and I texted my son, who was supposed to be in class. He told me they were all hiding behind their desks and he thought it was just a drill, he didn't know it was real. He hadn't heard any shots." The Factor was then joined by Paul Morgan, an astronomy professor at Umpqua Community College. "I heard gunshots early this morning," Morgan said, "but the only thing odd about the gunshots is that they were kind of muffled and seemed fairly rapid. I then saw all the police cars and ambulances and a scene of mass chaos. Right now there is a lot of concern and worry, but not much information. We usually only have one or two security guards on campus."

Soon after the shooting in Oregon, President Obama went on TV to call for stricter gun laws. The Factor put forth this response to the president: "You say that the states that have the most gun laws have the least gun violence. Your home state of Illinois has perhaps the most stringent gun laws in the country. In Chicago there have been 6,000 shootings since 2012 and 1,679 murders, many of them exactly where you worked as a community organizer. You know, Mr. President, that Chicago has extremely stringent gun laws. Criminals who need guns to do their business are going to get guns because there are not strict penalties if you violate gun laws in Chicago or Illinois. The laws are on the books, but they are not enforced, and you have not made an issue of it at all. You don't even mention the carnage in Chicago, your hometown. You, Mr. President, want to put drug dealers back on the street because you consider that a non-violent crime. But they traffic in narcotics and they use guns! You are not going to change the Second Amendment. I have the right to protect myself because there are crazed animals like the guy in Oregon. Are you going to deny me protection if I live in a rural area? Reasonable people say yes to reasonable gun laws, but enforce the law! Everyone committing a crime with a firearm should get a 10 year mandatory prison term in a federal penitentiary. That will cut down on gun crime right away, but it will never stop the individual nuts. Let's be honest about this."

The Factor next spoke with John Parker, a veteran and a student at Umpqua Community College. "I was studying with a group of other veterans," he said, "when a man came in and told us that a shooting was going on. A few of us wanted to go and check things out and intervene, but we were told to stay inside. It doesn't shock me that crimes like this can happen anywhere, but it's personal when it's in your home town." The Factor also welcomed Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice. "We live in a rural community," Boice said, "and we have a lot of people who exercise their right to bear arms. This is exactly the reason why. My personal belief is that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun. Some American people are under the illusion that if you were to make guns illegal, then people wouldn't own them. But criminals have access to guns through the black market and I personally know people who manufacture guns in their own garages. There's no way to rid the earth of guns."

Jim Godbold, Director of Communications at the PeaceHealth Hospital in Oregon, spoke about the victims being treated there. "There were gunshot wounds," he reported, "and two patients went into surgery immediately. We are a Level 2 trauma center, so we are equipped to provide all of the services necessary to care for this kind of trauma. We see gunshot wounds all the time and right now we are having our pastoral care team talking to the victims and their families."

The Factor asked Dr. Ron Martinelli, a forensic criminologist, why American schools are so frequently the site of carnage. "Schools are targets," Martinelli said, "and there is a good reason. "You have a lot of unarmed people and limited protection. On this campus of 3,000 people they only had two security officers, so it was easy for a ticking time bomb who wanted to kill as many people as possible." Martinelli contended that President Obama is dead wrong about gun control. "The forensic fact is that is completely incorrect, I don't know what planet this man lives on. The states and cities with the strictest gun laws have the highest homicide rates. There has to be enhanced sentencing and people have to follow through with it."

The Factor concluded with some thoughts on the mass murder in Oregon: "Over the past 19 years I have covered dozens of mass murder situations. All of them have one thing in common - evil. If you are a believer in Judeo-Christian philosophy, you know that life is a struggle between good and evil. But for those who do not believe in anything, there is no struggle, there is only impulse. Most non-believers can control themselves, but a few can not. If you believe in nothing, anything goes! There have been great agnostic and atheistic people, but the majority of atrocities the world has experienced are committed by individuals or societies who reject the greater good. By rejecting standards of good and accepting harmful behavior as normal, the world is becoming a much more dangerous place. When life means nothing, atrocities will occur. And they are."