Yet another school shooting, and predictably, “gun availability is blamed. But what does this mean?

• Clearly, children, especially unstable children, should have no access to guns, or large knives, or gasoline, or other dangerous substances.

• Clearly, if guns were totally unavailable, none would be used. This was the situation in the Middle Ages, before guns were invented, but the period was very violent. If you believe that “gun-free” means nonviolent, watch the film “Braveheart.” There were sword deaths, dagger deaths, axe deaths, and arrow deaths. But there were no gun deaths, so presumably gun haters would have felt safe and secure there.

• In my father’s closet was a Winchester Model 12 shotgun, and a box of shells. It was a prewar model, and worth real money today. I knew it was there, but the idea was in the back of my mind. I was bullied in junior high and had the bruises to prove it. I was an outsider in high school and have the emotional scars to prove it.

But never, not once, did I even fantasize bringing the gun to school. In fact, I never imagined entering my father’s closet without his permission. He died when I was 18, and I had to wait for my mother before entering his closet to clear out his things. And yes, the shotgun was still there, pristine in its gun sock.

The gun was “available” in the sense of being physically accessible to me. But it was absolutely unavailable in the sense of being useful to me to commit murder. My parents’ wishes. How disappointed they would be. The Ten Commandments. What my rabbi would say. The legal consequences. What my classmates would think of me. What I would think of me.

When we talk about “gun availability,” let us think clearly about what we mean.