Saturday, December 15, 2012

Numb

I was numb yesterday after following several hours of coverage of the tragic school shooting in Connecticut.

This one hit too close to home and by "home" I don't mean my geographical location; I mean my heart as a dad.

I told Wife as we watched and listened to the news accounts yesterday that the community of Newtown is much like the one in which we live, and the school where the tragedy happened is much like the one our children attended as youngsters.

In addition, Daughter is now a kindergarten teacher.

In this age of instant communication, in which I am participating by virtue of this blog, comments and opinions abound. And we all know about comments and opinions.

But for what it's worth, count me as one who favors stricter gun laws. I have felt this way for years and an event such as this reinforces my feelings.

Go back and read my posts over the past four years and you'll see I'm not a liberal. Frankly, I don't see this as a matter of being liberal or conservative, or even a matter of politics for that matter.

This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. Your right to bear arms will not be affected by required background checks and other reasonable controls put in place.

No, this will not prevent the crazies from doing what crazies will do and I realize that discussion of character and values also needs to take place. I totally get that.

But can we not make it more difficult for the crazies to get the guns?  Or at least try?

Please hear me:  I have no problem with your owning as many guns as you want. I bought a shotgun for Older Son when he was in high school. He bought a rifle himself when he reached legal age and if I'm not mistaken it's still in his room here.
 
When the Kansas City football player recently shot and killed his girlfriend and himself, NBC sportscaster Bob Costas made comments during the broadcast of a game, calling for stricter gun laws. Like me, he wasn't calling for repeal of the Second Amendment or outlawing guns (even though his critics tried to make it sound like that). He simply said maybe it's time to consider enacting laws that help prevent this kind of thing from happening.

Since his broadcast, we've had a mall shooting in Oregon and now this horrible event in Connecticut. Could stricter laws prevent these occurrences? I don't know but I think it's worth a try. 

From one Bob to another:  I'm with you, man.








7 comments:

Kelly said...

No matter what a person's stance on gun control, this is an inconceivable tragedy. It absolutely breaks my heart.

Mary O. Paddock said...

Well said Bob and I concur concerning stricter gun control laws. However as long as the NRA has the Republican's ear, this is unlikely.

It devastated all of us here too. Sam, who is fourteen, was rattled to his core. He had some hard questions concerning God and suffering and children. Those poor parents.

Andrew said...

It is a shame that the issue has become a left/right issue. I feel like there should be some reasonable middle ground, but most folks tend to fall harshly on either side.

Great post!

quid said...

I wholeheartedly agree.

quid

Bob Barbanes: said...

People like to jump on the bandwagon that we "need stricter gun laws!" Okay, I'll bite: Name some. Tell me what "stricter gun laws" you'd like to see enacted. Then tell me how they would have specifically prevented an event like Newtown, Connecticut (or the Columbine H.S. shootings for that matter). Tell me how these "stricter gun laws" that you propose would have saved ONE life in either of those schools.

And then tell me how they'll prevent a similar event from happening in the future.

I'm all ears.

Andrew said...

I suspect gun laws vary from state to state, but I think training and licensure for purchase would help weed out the irresponsible and the crazy to some extent. I had a student a few years ago who was playing with the shotgun he and his cousin found in his dads closet. At that range, it nearly removed my student's head. Dad had bought the gun due to rising crime in his neighborhood. However, though he jumped on the gun bandwagon, he unfortunately was not required to also hitch the responsibility bandwagon. We can't stop all things, but I am wondering if a required safety class, some training and such might have changed the destiny of my student.

Debby said...

Bob ~ your blog no longer shows up in my feed, and I keep 'forgetting' you. I will weigh in on this. http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/nra-s-silence-was-golden-1.1420181