Another school shooting; this time in Santa Fe, Texas, claiming the lives of 10 people. Just 2 days prior to the Santa Fe Shooting, a town just 10 minutes from where I live, Dixon, Illinois, had a school shooting in which the 19-year-old shooter engaged with a school resource officer who ended up wounding the shooter and stopping him from taking any lives. That day, the 16th of May, got me thinking very deeply about all of these shootings, because that day my children were also on lockdown at their schools. It hit close to home, and when things hit close to home, people tend to go deeper into thought about those things they get used to seeing hit the news feed every day in America.
I am not just talking about school shootings in this blog, however. I am talking about all of the senseless mass shootings that have occurred in America now for years. If you look up the statistics, there are horrible school shootings and other mass shootings every year. Some years have better statistics than others, but one of the major similarities you see regarding all of the shootings is the aftermath.
You see the media response, with groups on the far left and right talking about the 2nd Amendment and about Gun Control. You see the NRA and other Pro-Gun groups create ads that scream 2nd Amendment in a way that is actually disgusting. If you get a chance, look up the NRA Ad for 2017. It made me angry to watch it.
I am a pro 2nd Amendment person, but I also understand that things need to change in order for this country to be able to limit the seemingly endless amount of casualties we have seen over the years with these senseless shootings. The NRA seems to think that they can deflect from the Guns portion of the problem by talking about mental health and other things, but the fact of the matter is that it is all important, including gun law reform. Not infringing on peoples' 2nd Amendment Rights, but improving and strengthening the laws to hopefully prevent some bad people from doing bad things.
The fact is that the word COMPREHENSIVE needs to be at the forefront of every conversation we have about legislation moving forward. This isn't just about guns, but guns play a large role. This is about guns, mental health reporting, red flag reporting, background checks, waiting periods, age limitations, the consistent application of law across state lines, school resource officers, etc. The conversation and subsequent legislation that needs to occur needs to be comprehensive in its approach and needs to be done at the Federal level.
It has been great to see some states, like Florida, take steps to improve their laws in the aftermath of shootings, but this is really something that needs to happen on a much larger scale. Our system is broken in many ways, and after shootings we hear the messages about thoughts and prayers, we hear a political debate, and then we hear silence on the federal level until the next shooting happens, at which time the cycle starts all over again...with no action being taken to make the necessary changes that need to be made.
That is unacceptable in every sense of the word. One thing I hear quite often is that changing laws won't stop bad people from getting guns. That, in some cases, is absolutely correct. That isn't, however, correct in every case. Many of these young shooters don't know how to buy a gun if they can't walk into a store and get one. There isn't a gun guy in every alley in every town in the USA selling guns out of his car trunk. In looking at the Florida Shooting that has received the most press this year, there could have been many things in place to prevent that shooting from actually happening. Had the age of purchase been 21, he wouldn't have been able to purchase the weapons. Had the school, students, teachers, police, or FBI had a process in place to immediately respond to the red flags that existed well in advance of the shooting, it could have been prevented. In fact, even under the current laws at that time, many people dropped the ball on the signs that were all right there out in the open.
So legislation needs to happen, and a change in how our country looks at this subject needs to happen. This isn't a debate to be had. This is a necessary change that needs to occur. We NEED to strengthen our gun laws (NO, NOT TAKE PEOPLES' GUNS). We need to strengthen our mental health reporting procedures and our mental health counseling across America. We need to create comprehensive red flag reporting legislation. We need to look into school resource officers to be more of a norm across the United States rather than an anomaly. We need change, and need to stop the ridiculous political arguments about this subject.
I am sick of the extreme views. Everyone needs to screw their heads on straight and start a conversation that is going to lead to legislation that is smarter and more comprehensive than what currently exists. No, none of it will stop all of the murders. But if a handful of people are stopped because of a more robust mental health system, or because of better gun laws, or because of a better reporting system...it is all worth it. There will never be an elimination of murders, but we can mitigate as many as possible by working toward a common goal as Americans, instead of two separately ridiculous goals.
Let's come together and do more than provide thoughts and prayers to these victims. Let's come together and drive for real, COMPREHENSIVE, change at the Federal level that will save lives.
DUNK
I am not just talking about school shootings in this blog, however. I am talking about all of the senseless mass shootings that have occurred in America now for years. If you look up the statistics, there are horrible school shootings and other mass shootings every year. Some years have better statistics than others, but one of the major similarities you see regarding all of the shootings is the aftermath.
You see the media response, with groups on the far left and right talking about the 2nd Amendment and about Gun Control. You see the NRA and other Pro-Gun groups create ads that scream 2nd Amendment in a way that is actually disgusting. If you get a chance, look up the NRA Ad for 2017. It made me angry to watch it.
I am a pro 2nd Amendment person, but I also understand that things need to change in order for this country to be able to limit the seemingly endless amount of casualties we have seen over the years with these senseless shootings. The NRA seems to think that they can deflect from the Guns portion of the problem by talking about mental health and other things, but the fact of the matter is that it is all important, including gun law reform. Not infringing on peoples' 2nd Amendment Rights, but improving and strengthening the laws to hopefully prevent some bad people from doing bad things.
The fact is that the word COMPREHENSIVE needs to be at the forefront of every conversation we have about legislation moving forward. This isn't just about guns, but guns play a large role. This is about guns, mental health reporting, red flag reporting, background checks, waiting periods, age limitations, the consistent application of law across state lines, school resource officers, etc. The conversation and subsequent legislation that needs to occur needs to be comprehensive in its approach and needs to be done at the Federal level.
It has been great to see some states, like Florida, take steps to improve their laws in the aftermath of shootings, but this is really something that needs to happen on a much larger scale. Our system is broken in many ways, and after shootings we hear the messages about thoughts and prayers, we hear a political debate, and then we hear silence on the federal level until the next shooting happens, at which time the cycle starts all over again...with no action being taken to make the necessary changes that need to be made.
That is unacceptable in every sense of the word. One thing I hear quite often is that changing laws won't stop bad people from getting guns. That, in some cases, is absolutely correct. That isn't, however, correct in every case. Many of these young shooters don't know how to buy a gun if they can't walk into a store and get one. There isn't a gun guy in every alley in every town in the USA selling guns out of his car trunk. In looking at the Florida Shooting that has received the most press this year, there could have been many things in place to prevent that shooting from actually happening. Had the age of purchase been 21, he wouldn't have been able to purchase the weapons. Had the school, students, teachers, police, or FBI had a process in place to immediately respond to the red flags that existed well in advance of the shooting, it could have been prevented. In fact, even under the current laws at that time, many people dropped the ball on the signs that were all right there out in the open.
So legislation needs to happen, and a change in how our country looks at this subject needs to happen. This isn't a debate to be had. This is a necessary change that needs to occur. We NEED to strengthen our gun laws (NO, NOT TAKE PEOPLES' GUNS). We need to strengthen our mental health reporting procedures and our mental health counseling across America. We need to create comprehensive red flag reporting legislation. We need to look into school resource officers to be more of a norm across the United States rather than an anomaly. We need change, and need to stop the ridiculous political arguments about this subject.
I am sick of the extreme views. Everyone needs to screw their heads on straight and start a conversation that is going to lead to legislation that is smarter and more comprehensive than what currently exists. No, none of it will stop all of the murders. But if a handful of people are stopped because of a more robust mental health system, or because of better gun laws, or because of a better reporting system...it is all worth it. There will never be an elimination of murders, but we can mitigate as many as possible by working toward a common goal as Americans, instead of two separately ridiculous goals.
Let's come together and do more than provide thoughts and prayers to these victims. Let's come together and drive for real, COMPREHENSIVE, change at the Federal level that will save lives.
DUNK
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