What happened over the weekend in Dadeville, Alabama was, in fact, awful. We all know it. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did.

For many, that was all the evidence they needed to call for gun control.

However, I figured that when things shook out and we learned a lot more, we’d find that the problem wasn’t the lack of gun control but the fact that gun control is ill-equipped to prevent such things.

Now, six people are in custody for the shootings, and guess what? It wasn’t a lack of gun control.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and Tallapoosa County District Attorney Mike Segrest have confirmed a sixth arrest in the Dadeville mass shooting that left four dead and dozens injured.

A 15-year-old male from Tuskegee is also facing four counts of reckless murder. The teen’s name was not released due to his age.

Two other suspects were announced by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency hours earlier Thursday. Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee, and Willie George Brown, 19, of Auburn, were arrested Thursday. ALEA confirmed these two are cousins. Like the other suspects charged, they also face four counts of reckless murder.

The arrests of Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, Tyreese “Ty Reik” McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, were announced Wednesday.

… After announcing the first three arrests on Wednesday, ALEA Sgt. Jeremy Burkett said more arrests were to be expected.

“We very much have a plan, and we’re trying to execute it in a way that’s gonna work for what we’re trying to accomplish,” Burkett said. “We’ve been very strategic.”

That’s for the best.

Now, let’s remember that the shooters used handguns. Judging by the ages of the accused, though, there’s absolutely no way any of these three obtained a firearm lawfully. Yes, even in Alabama.

Federal law itself mandates that handguns cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 21 and yet, here we are.

What a lot of people don’t get is that criminals will violate laws. It’s kind of in the definition of “criminal.”

So, when they make a big to-do about how we need gun control to prevent them from being armed, it’s beyond ridiculous to take the arguments seriously.

In Dadeville, it looks like six people under the age of 21 had handguns, at least two of whom carried the guns illegally (Alabama’s law has constitutional carry for ages 20 and up), then used them in an illegal manner.

Just what would have suddenly stopped them from breaking the laws they already broke?

Universal background checks wouldn’t have. No one mistakes a 16-year-old for 21, so it’s unlikely some unsuspecting but law-abiding person sold the gun to him in good faith.

No, these were likely obtained on the black market or via theft, both of which are already illegal.

Writing over at our sister site, Hot Air, Beege Wellborn had this to say on the topic:

Their state senator had some strong, wise words.

…Sen. Jay Hovey, R-Auburn, whose District 27 includes Dadeville and most of Tallapoosa County, read the names of the four young people killed: Philstavious Dowdell; Shaunkivia Nicole “Keke” Smith; Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins; and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston. Thirty-two others were injured, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

“I’ve been honored to get to know the good people of Dadeville and Tallapoosa County over the last year and my heart goes out to entire community in the wake of these tragic events,” said Hovey, who began his first term in November. “People are going to try to politicize this event, as so many others that break our hearts. But I’m going to tell you now, and you’ll hear me say over and over again over the next years that we work together, that we’re never going to be able to legislate morality.

“The evil in this world that continues to devastate the communities across the country can only be defeated in the hearts and minds and homes and churches of these communities. There will be discussions on this floor and in legislative bodies across this country about the responsibility of legislators. And while of course we have the responsibility to do everything we can to protect our communities, this war will only be won by changing hearts.”

He’s right. 16 and 17-year-olds aren’t legally allowed to have these weapons – there are plenty of laws already. Who keeps providing these weapons to children, whether it’s in Dadeville or Philadelphia or Chicago? The story is the exact same every single time.

I agree on every level.

It’s clear that laws don’t stop unlawful behavior. The best it does is give us grounds to punish people who engage in such actions, but it doesn’t prevent anything.

Since this is happening all over the nation, including in states with much stricter gun control, it’s beyond time to acknowledge that a lack of laws isn’t the problem and never was.

No, the problem is that we have entire swaths of the American people who have no value for the lives of their fellow people.