Getting Grip in Face of Tragedy

Emotions are running high with the tragic events at Holly Hook Elementary School where a crazed gunman decimated a community by murdering 27 of the city's residents. Americans were shocked, sickened and saddened by the news being reported from Newtown, Connecticut on Friday December 14th. Our hearts and prayers go out to all of the families who have been devastated by the horrendous, unspeakable tragedy that engulfed the close-knit community. It is impossible to get your mind around why any person would walk into an elementary school and open fire on first graders, their teachers and staff! The why question will never be answered because we simply cannot make sense of a senseless act of mass violence.

With this latest school shooting there is a feverish pitch for more gun control. As a gun owner I am very skeptical about additional gun laws as to their effectiveness. Plus the Second Amendment grants rights to Americans to bear arms in case the government ever mushroomed into a tyrannical force. We have the God-given right to self-protection. All of the discussion about tighter gun controls simply misses the target (no pun intended) when it comes to preventing these tragic events. I find it interesting the gun laws (waiting period) in Connecticut actually prevented the deranged gunman from purchasing a weapon. He did not want to wait. But he was able to access the guns his mother legally owned.

Schools are now "gun free zones." I heard the superintendent of Texas on the radio this morning. He said this idea of making schools gun free zones has backfired. It has made them a target for the mentally ill and emotionally disturbed. In Texas they are working on training and arming teachers. Perhaps we need a national discussion on how to best protect our schools from the nut cases in the country. Is it time to place an armed policeman at every school? Should some teachers (who are willing of course) be armed? It is frustratingly sad that it has come to this but maybe we need to think about having responsible people with proper training defend the schools. As a taxpayer I would be willing to do my part in raising revenues to pay for those who would protect our schools.

As we grieve for the loss of those 27 precious souls we must be ever vigilant to protect all of our citizens and use the wisdom God has given us to create common sense solutions without robbing the responsible gun owner from his/her rights. There has to be ways we can do more to make our schools safer. Taking away my gun rights doesn't make much sense to me. The worst school massacre occurred in the late 1920's. (It was either 1927 or 1929.) It took place in Bath, Michigan when a disgruntled citizen of the town bombed a school murdering 38 children and several adults. He also died in the explosion. The man used his truck with dynamite.

Now more than ever we need perspective not panic. The President wants a task-force to recommend solutions to the issue of school shootings. There are no easy answers but taking away gun rights for the law-abiding citizen makes as much sense as banning trucks, or knives or hammers or any other instrument that could be used to take the life of others. Let's get a grip on reality and do some hard thinking about how to best protect our kids.