Facts Are Facts

Facts can be troublesome and thorny items in life. Often people do not want to ignore or overlook the facts. Like the old saying many people have their minds made up so don't confuse them with the facts. Today (Wednesday January 16th) President Obama is to announce 19 Executive Orders that are supposed to prevent mass killings like the one at Holly Hook, Connecticut. At the center of these orders is the old and tired measures of more gun control. Why do so many people blame the weapon of choice rather than the deranged person? With all of the calls for tighter controls on guns there are a few facts that might enlighten our minds and contribute to meaningful discussion on the how to best protect our children at school.

In 2011 deaths were tallied as follows:

 * 323 by "assault rifles"

 * 496 by hammers

 * 650 by knives

 * 12,000 by drunk drivers

 * 195, 000 by medical malpractice

Based upon the logic for more gun control shouldn't there be controls on hammers and knives? What are the solutions to drunk drivers and medical malpractice? Do we ban cars? No one would ever suggest banning doctors! That doesn't make any sense! But the same logic applies to the reasoning behind stricter gun control.

I wonder how many Americans know the difference between an "assault rifle" and automatic rifles? While the semi-automatic rifle is rapid fire it cannot keep with the automatic variety. They have been banned since 1937. My understanding is a person can try to acquire an automatic weapon but the background check and waiting period make it much more difficult to obtain.

People see the semi-automatic and think that is what the police and military use. But that is not the case! They are simply designed to look like the guns used by those who protect us. People need to do their homework.

The truth remains it is very difficult to stop all mass killings. Timothy McVeigh used a homemade bomb including fertilizer to kill 168 people in Oklahoma City. Do we ban fertilizer? When we stop and think about what the sources and causes are that lead people to commit such heinous crimes the solutions are much more difficult to determine. What about the area of Mental Health? Why was the shooter in Connecticut not in a mental institution? His mother had attempted to have him committed but was unable? Why?

Interestingly, the stricter gun laws being proposed would not have stopped him! Hasn't anyone thought about that? Connecticut has some of the toughest gun restrictions on the books but that didn't prevent this deranged man from doing the unthinkable.

Let's be sure we know the facts.