Senseless tragedy brings out the best in some people, the worst in others.
The gun control debate has flared it's ugly head again, just like it did after Aurora and Virginia Tech.
Nothing anyone can say will EVER replace the children that were lost and the educators who gave their lives to save their students.
And instead of focusing on offering those grieving the comfort they deserve, we are now raging among ourselves about gun control
Take all the guns away, make sure more people are armed. Neither is the right answer. Or, neither is 100% the right answer.
Yes, gun control does need tightening up. Instead of just background checks, we should take a leaf out of Holland's book and require mental evaluations,
done both by police and a doctor. Anyone with any type of violent criminal record, felony or not, should be denied any and all gun ownership. Violation of that should be harsh.
Anyone who currently suffers from any type of mental illness, should not be allowed to purchase any type of weapon unless proved to be in remission or well controlled for more than 5 years.
I know that is beginning to border on violation of civil rights but it is what it is. It is not a punishment for illness, rather a precaution. Like Laura's Law, which allows relatives, doctors and law enforcement to enforce treatment of a mentally ill individual if they are considered a danger to themselves or others.
A friend recently made a great point. "After 9/11 we didn't ban airliners, we blamed the terrorist, not the weapon."
Drunk drivers kill thousands of people a year. Drugs, both legal and illegal leave children without parents, and parents to bury their children.
I've stood by the idea that evil people will always do evil things, regardless of their weapon of choice. The same day as Newtown, 22 children were stabbed during an attack on a school in China, where there are no guns allowed in the civilian population. That did not stop that man from trying to end the life of 22 young people who had never committed a sin against him.
Its a vicious, spiraling circle that is only going to continue to breach the freedoms of the American people if we take away our guns.
Gun are a lot like illegal drugs. Yes, they are illegal but they are still used, bough and sold, regardless of what the law says.
If you look at many of the gun crimes that have been sensationalized in the last 10 years, the guns were usually (generalizing here) stolen or obtained illegally.
The guns used at Newtown were stolen from the shooter's mother, another victim. She legally purchased the guns for the pleasure of using them on a shooting range, and being able to defend herself as a single woman. She used them for their true purpose, not to inflict harm or injury on others. Instead, her son, stole them from her and ended her life.
Most gun violence on the streets comes from stolen or black market weapons.
What does this say?
If you take the guns away from law abiding citizens, such as myself, you take them away from the group who use them for their intended purposes.
Hunting, target shooting and protection. Do you honestly believe that if there was a gun round up, that the drug dealers, thugs, guns for hire and mobsters would turn their weapons in? If you think so, you're kidding yourself.
A very good friend of mine's father is former law enforcement, former DEA and former federal agent.
The man was very good at his job and put dozens and dozens of people in jail during his long career. He has received hundreds of threats against him, his family and his colleagues, so he now carries multiple weapons on him in public (he is licensed to do so) and always has one within reach while at home. Would you take away his guns, that allow him peace of mind and his safety when those who would harm him would never give theirs up? Sure a ban on guns would get rid of most of the guns, but not all of them, and lets face it, those left floating around would very likely end up in the hands of those who shouldn't have them in the first place. Who wants that?
This argument is not about gun control.
It is about mental health.
Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora and now Newtown. Every perpetrator had a history of depression, mental illness, something that caused them to be unbalanced. These are the people that need the most help.
Prevent them from hurting themselves and others. We need to focus on the mental health of our country! Every American is sick now, because of what happened. The illness is spreading, catching and we have to prevent this grief, this sickness from happening again. Mental illness is something that affects us all, even if there is no direct contact.
Every parent has faced some of their worst fears during the unfolding tragedy on December 14th. Even if you only watched and wept, you were still affected.
We as a country have a duty to our people, to protect them. Those who inflict this kind of pain and then take their own lives are no exception. There has to be something we can do to prevent them from snapping, from hurting those who have never hurt a soul in their lives, like the teachers who gave their own lives to save the children in their care.
Don't take away our guns. Make them harder to get. If someone is sick, sick enough to hurt themselves and others, there has to be something that can be done. Yes, it may seem like medicating them or committing them is cruel, but when they hurt others, kill others, it doesn't seem so extreme.
Never again should our country have to mourn the loss of 20 beautiful children, 5 dedicated educators and mother who loved her son, despite his trouble.
This is one woman's plea to our country, our government. Don't take away my guns, but please help those who truly, and desperately need it.
The gun control debate has flared it's ugly head again, just like it did after Aurora and Virginia Tech.
Nothing anyone can say will EVER replace the children that were lost and the educators who gave their lives to save their students.
And instead of focusing on offering those grieving the comfort they deserve, we are now raging among ourselves about gun control
Take all the guns away, make sure more people are armed. Neither is the right answer. Or, neither is 100% the right answer.
Yes, gun control does need tightening up. Instead of just background checks, we should take a leaf out of Holland's book and require mental evaluations,
done both by police and a doctor. Anyone with any type of violent criminal record, felony or not, should be denied any and all gun ownership. Violation of that should be harsh.
Anyone who currently suffers from any type of mental illness, should not be allowed to purchase any type of weapon unless proved to be in remission or well controlled for more than 5 years.
I know that is beginning to border on violation of civil rights but it is what it is. It is not a punishment for illness, rather a precaution. Like Laura's Law, which allows relatives, doctors and law enforcement to enforce treatment of a mentally ill individual if they are considered a danger to themselves or others.
A friend recently made a great point. "After 9/11 we didn't ban airliners, we blamed the terrorist, not the weapon."
Drunk drivers kill thousands of people a year. Drugs, both legal and illegal leave children without parents, and parents to bury their children.
I've stood by the idea that evil people will always do evil things, regardless of their weapon of choice. The same day as Newtown, 22 children were stabbed during an attack on a school in China, where there are no guns allowed in the civilian population. That did not stop that man from trying to end the life of 22 young people who had never committed a sin against him.
Its a vicious, spiraling circle that is only going to continue to breach the freedoms of the American people if we take away our guns.
Gun are a lot like illegal drugs. Yes, they are illegal but they are still used, bough and sold, regardless of what the law says.
If you look at many of the gun crimes that have been sensationalized in the last 10 years, the guns were usually (generalizing here) stolen or obtained illegally.
The guns used at Newtown were stolen from the shooter's mother, another victim. She legally purchased the guns for the pleasure of using them on a shooting range, and being able to defend herself as a single woman. She used them for their true purpose, not to inflict harm or injury on others. Instead, her son, stole them from her and ended her life.
Most gun violence on the streets comes from stolen or black market weapons.
What does this say?
If you take the guns away from law abiding citizens, such as myself, you take them away from the group who use them for their intended purposes.
Hunting, target shooting and protection. Do you honestly believe that if there was a gun round up, that the drug dealers, thugs, guns for hire and mobsters would turn their weapons in? If you think so, you're kidding yourself.
A very good friend of mine's father is former law enforcement, former DEA and former federal agent.
The man was very good at his job and put dozens and dozens of people in jail during his long career. He has received hundreds of threats against him, his family and his colleagues, so he now carries multiple weapons on him in public (he is licensed to do so) and always has one within reach while at home. Would you take away his guns, that allow him peace of mind and his safety when those who would harm him would never give theirs up? Sure a ban on guns would get rid of most of the guns, but not all of them, and lets face it, those left floating around would very likely end up in the hands of those who shouldn't have them in the first place. Who wants that?
This argument is not about gun control.
It is about mental health.
Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora and now Newtown. Every perpetrator had a history of depression, mental illness, something that caused them to be unbalanced. These are the people that need the most help.
Prevent them from hurting themselves and others. We need to focus on the mental health of our country! Every American is sick now, because of what happened. The illness is spreading, catching and we have to prevent this grief, this sickness from happening again. Mental illness is something that affects us all, even if there is no direct contact.
Every parent has faced some of their worst fears during the unfolding tragedy on December 14th. Even if you only watched and wept, you were still affected.
We as a country have a duty to our people, to protect them. Those who inflict this kind of pain and then take their own lives are no exception. There has to be something we can do to prevent them from snapping, from hurting those who have never hurt a soul in their lives, like the teachers who gave their own lives to save the children in their care.
Don't take away our guns. Make them harder to get. If someone is sick, sick enough to hurt themselves and others, there has to be something that can be done. Yes, it may seem like medicating them or committing them is cruel, but when they hurt others, kill others, it doesn't seem so extreme.
Never again should our country have to mourn the loss of 20 beautiful children, 5 dedicated educators and mother who loved her son, despite his trouble.
This is one woman's plea to our country, our government. Don't take away my guns, but please help those who truly, and desperately need it.