No Simple Solution

Everyone wants answers- but there are none. At least no answer that would make me say- oh, okay- now I get it.

There is so much crap on the internet I’m afraid to open my facebook page for fear I will lose another friend because I can’t take the adamant blaming of the left or the right. Really people, is that your best? Blame the other guy? I saw people blame President Obama, I saw people skip right over the fact that 20 babies were killed and say they will never give up their rights to own a gun. We’ll have to take them out of their cold dead hands. Okay- I can do that. I don’t think gun laws are the only answer to the problem though. I think there is so much more- but if people don’t discuss the issues with empathy, with keeping the families of the murdered in their hearts and minds first and foremost- then you are missing the whole point of humanity and democracy working for the greater good.

I don’t think anyone is going to go after your deer-hunting rifle or your 6 shooter. But do you need an arsenal? And if so why? Because if it’s from delusional paranoia that the liberals, the Muslims, the Jews, the Mexicans , the Blacks, are taking over the world, then guess what? Maybe we should rethink to whom we are giving these guns.  

Was the Newtown shooter mentally ill? Yes. Was it his mothers fault for having guns around an unstable person? Yes. I have no idea if she did the best she could or not. No idea at all- but guns around unstable people is always a mistake. The trick is how do you know when someone is going to crack? And how do you legislate that?

Some people are saying we need to bring prayer back into our Nation. My faith in God- was already waning when the horrific murders of 27 people in Newtown took place. I have always wondered about a God that would let children (especially) suffer so many horrible things. Believers always say- but he saved so and so… and he was there to hold the pieces together after the fact- but really- if you are GOD you should be able to do more right? Babies are innocent- no matter what the Christians say about being born with sin.

In fact- the way I see it -religions and the myriad differences of all of them causes more problems than they solve.  Just ask the survivors in Oslo. Just ask some Jews. Just ask some Muslims.

So the anti prayer in school people are freaking out because they don’t want church and state mixing it up and the 2^nd amendment people are freaking out because they are afraid they will have to give up some of their semi-automatic weapons.

I read an article where they decided to arm the teachers. Does anyone besides me see something crazy about that? Militaristic? What if the teacher takes a shot and hits a kid?

On March 13, 1996, unemployed former shopkeeper Thomas Hamilton walked into Dunblane Primary School armed with two 9 mm Browning HP pistols and two Smith & Wesson M19 .357 Magnum revolvers, all legally held. He was carrying 743 cartridges, and fired his weapons 109 times. The subsequent police investigation revealed that Hamilton had loaded the magazines for his Browning with an alternating combination of full-metal-jacket and hollow-point ammunition. Hamilton made his way to the gymnasium and opened fire on a Primary One class of five- and six-year-olds, killing or wounding all but one person. Fifteen children died together with their class teacher, Gwen Mayor, who was killed trying to protect the children.

In 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania.  The Gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV took hostages and shot ten girls (aged 6–13), killing five, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse. He used a semi-automatic weapon. A group of people who never hurt anyone… who prayed on a very regular basis. Why? Why would anyone want to hurt them?  

The Norwegian police charged a 32-year-old man, whom they identified as a Christian fundamentalist with right-wing connections, over the bombing of a government center and a shooting attack on a nearby island that together left at least 92 people dead.

There is so much information about this that I am including a Wikipedia link – the numbers of dead vary from 80-92- the Wikipedia information on the dead is incorrect-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks

(The following paragraphs are of particular interest to me) 

“He decided to obtain a semi-automatic rifle and a Glock pistol legally in Norway, noting that he had a "clean criminal record, hunting license, and two guns (a Benelli Nova 12 gauge Pump-action shotgun and a .308 Bolt-action rifle) already for seven years", and that obtaining the guns legally should therefore not be a problem. 

Upon returning to Norway, Breivik obtained a legal permit for a .223-caliber Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic carbine, ostensibly for the purpose of hunting deer. He bought it in late 2010 for €1,400 ($2000). He wanted to purchase a 7.62x39mm Ruger Mini-30 semi-automatic carbine, but gun laws in Norway may have prevented Breivik from obtaining it.

Getting a permit for the pistol proved more difficult, as he had to demonstrate regular attendance at a sport shooting club. He also bought 10 30-round magazines for the rifle from a United States supplier, and 6 magazines for the pistol (including 4 30-round magazines) in Norway. From November 2010 to January 2011 he went through 15 training sessions at the Oslo Pistol Club, and by mid-January his application to purchase a Glock pistol was approved. 

Breivik claimed in his manifesto that he bought 300 g of sodium nitrate from a Polish shop for €10 in December 2010, in order to make a bomb fuse. In March 2011, he legally bought 100 kg of chemicals from a small Internet-based Wrocław company. The Polish ABW interviewed the company owner on 24 July 2011. Breivik's Polish purchases initially led to him being put on the watch list of the Norwegian intelligence, which did not act because they did not believe it was relevant.
 
He had also planned a last religious service (in Frogner Church) before the attack. He was a fundamentalist Christian. This guy planned this for a long time. Yet not one person thought he was a problem not even Norwegian Intelligence. 

In June of 2012 a gunman, dressed in tactical clothing, entered a theater in Aurora CO- not far from where one of my best friends lives and  set off tear gas grenades and shot into the audience with multiple firearms, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. James Eagan Holmes, was arrested outside the theater minutes later.

Meanwhile the mental health communities are adding up how much money it will take to fix all the broken people ( a lot) and the families- the poor families of these children- these babies, these heroic teachers, These Scottish babies, these Norwegian teenagers, these Batman enthusiasts- their poor families are mired in grief. Normal grief is bad enough, but can you imagine knowing your baby spent their last minutes in total fear?  I can’t.

My parents never recovered from losing my 27-year-old brother in an accident – my mother died two years later. I think the stress triggered my Dad’s ALS- he died 7 years later. You do not recover from that grief. Not in a lifetime.

I don’t believe in church and state mixing it up- but I’d be willing to let go of that fight if they could pray nondenominational prayer- another words not Christian. Not Hebrew. Not Muslim.  Or even better if school taught about all religions- without favoritism. Maybe if that were to occur they would see the common thread and not the great divide. Religious tolerance would be a wonderful thing wouldn’t it?

I know too, that a lot people like to hunt and have rifles, and I would have more respect for people who hunted animals with a bow and arrow- but I get it- sort of, and I understand it’s a sport- but irresponsibility with these guns is unforgivable. LOCK THEM UP. Think about who has access. And do not underestimate a curious kid. My dad was a policeman -I never, ever saw his gun.

I know a few people- especially military who love their guns- they were trained – and trained some more to use them properly. (Although many of them who suffer from PTSD and TBI should not have guns anymore either.)

A little give and take. Is that too much to ask? A dialogue that brings up all the issues- and looks for solutions. Less finger pointing – more open-mindedness.

I see the biggest problem as people that don’t want to get involved, that won’t call the police when they see suspicious behavior, that won’t report a neglected child, that won’t report a child molester, that won’t report anything about anyone because it’s none of their business. I wonder how many people thought this Newtown killer was off the rails and didn’t say anything to anyone.

If praying makes you feel better you should pray. But I don’t expect it to change anything. I believe ONLY action will change anything. Prayer is inaction. It’s thought. It’s letting Gods will be. It’s acceptance.  I refuse to accept that 15 babies should be killed, 20 babies should be killed or 91 teens should be killed or 12 Batman fans should be killed, because there are bad, sick, confused people in the world with access to semi-automatic weapons.  (The Scotland killer used handguns.)   

Personally, I am going to act. I am going to fight for more responsible gun control, no assault weapons, and better mental health care for the nation. If they want prayer in school I will fight for all religions to be taught and not just Christianity. I’ll fight for people to start getting involved. Pay attention. For me it’s a no brainer; the ONLY way to honor the dead and give their families something – some little bit of light in their darkest hours.