2 Minors Killed and 8 Others Injured in Pittsburg Party: Guns aren't Toys

We seem to have a rash of people pulling out their guns to solve problems. The more we see young kids doing this, the more we must start to wonder if the way we doing things is the right way. I know it seems obvious but guns aren't toys. Real people get hurt, lives are destroyed, and everyone loses.

 Unfortunately, violence seems to be the preferred path for some people and the skills for other paths lacking among many. 

While these shooters did the wrong thing they did so in context of a wider society in which conflict is handled. Solving problems like this often means teaching people how to manage differences. 

I have seen the difficulties when people disagree and can't stop escalating. There is no limit in the way in which some people process anger and aggression. There are skills that help people diffuse tough situations and still "save face". It just sort of depends on which paths we emulate in society and which one's we don't. 

This is why we still need police. There are bad people in society (and yes there are some bad police officers) and we need mechanisms to hold "bad apples" accountable (counts for policing too.). That doesn't mean we can't make policing stronger and more focused on prosocial evidence based tactics but that the general function of policing is still needed in society. (Kind of why it would be difficult to defund policing. Someone/thing/group would have to fill that power void/vacuum; at least at this point in history. It is much better to have an official policing function than leave that to other entities less subject to oversite. If you study societal structures long enough you will see that different societies may have different cultural values but that there is always a policing function; i.e. religious, militias, military, police, etc... That doesn't take away from the ideas of exploring other alternative sentencing/punishment as well as a general review/update policing tactics/policies. Additional research in the law enforcement area supported by government/industry $$ might not only improve effectiveness but also explore other policing type systems, methods, and possibilities. If something isn't optimal it is often best to explore the possibilities, test, and evaluate to continuously improve the institution; the difference between  law enforcement as a learning organization or one stuck in old methodologies/tactics. Science is likely to change a lot of that going forward a little over the next few decades. Its just an opinion so please don't get upset!)