|
|
 |
|
The views expressed on this page are soley
those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views of County
News Online
|
 |
The Fix Will
Not Be Easy
By Kate Burch
No surprise that the people who want to take our stuff and control our
lives are at it with a vengeance in the wake of the St. Valentine’s Day
massacre in Florida. The demands range from better background
checks and restricting gun purchases to those age 21 and older (not
necessarily a bad idea, in my view, except for those with military
service or other legitimate and trained familiarity with weapons), to
direct confiscation of guns, an idea actually voiced out loud and into
a microphone by one lawmaker.
These folks are rushing to take advantage of an opportunity to exploit
the horror and fear roused by the event to further their misguided and
foolish, and in some cases nefarious, desire to disarm the populace.
The merely misguided and foolish think that something magical will
happen if guns are difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain at the gun
shop or gun show. Even the Washington Post, hardly a conservative
publication, reported in a July 27, 2016 article that solid research
shows that lawful gun owners commit less than a fifth of all gun
crimes. Most guns used in gun violence, other than suicide, are
stolen or otherwise obtained illegally. Also worth noting
is that in Switzerland, where every adult male is still issued a rifle
by the government for defense of family and country, there is,
proportionately, only about 10% as much gun violence as in this
country. And most of that involves suicide, not homicide.
Those with a nefarious agenda to deny Second Amendment rights are the
ones in government that the Founding Fathers were concerned about, and
the reason that they wrote and included the Second Amendment in the
first place. Amendment II is to protect the populace from the
government. Look it up. It also may just be possible that
“Russia, Russia, Russia” or another of our adversaries, could also be
meddling in the public debate about gun control, as a disarmed America
would be a softer target.
Most of the school shootings over the past few decades have been the
work of people with serious mental illness, but not all. It also
is true that only a subset of the mentally ill present a threat of
violence. Unfortunately, not all people with mental illness will
self-refer for treatment, and the bar has been set very high for
coercing an unwilling subject into treatment. Another troubling
possibility is that psychotropic drugs prescribed for mental illness
may incite suicidal and homicidal ideation in some individuals.
So, a program to keep weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill
presents some very tricky challenges.
There is also the problem of contagion: publicity (and how!!)
given to these horrific events and their perpetrators appears to have
an effect of lowering the threshold for violent acting out for some who
would not ordinarily do so. This is a very complex issue, that
cannot be addressed here, but my opinion is that the constant and
prolonged media attention to mass murders is unhealthy and
unhelpful.
Let’s face it, we have a lot of unhappiness and social unrest in our
country. Rates of mental illness are rising quite alarmingly,
especially among children and youth. Many of our institutions are
broken, especially the most basic of all, the family. Traditional
mores, values, and beliefs are under assault and we are asked to accept
as normal behaviors and lifestyles that violate traditional
norms. Men and maleness itself are under attack by radical
feminists. Too many boys and young men spend too many hours
playing violent video games. Many are addicted to online
pornography and eschew seeking relationships with real women.
Anything-goes sexuality—what used to be called loose morals—makes
marriage less appealing and contributes to isolation. Children
are too often fatherless. The culture approves of killing
children in the womb, and might this not make a child think that his or
her life is not worth much? Many prefer to rage about offenses and
injustices of the past, real and imagined, rather than focus on
creating amity and civility in the now.
These are all serious problems, and resolving them will require
reformation in the culture and reaffirmation of age-old truths.
During the history of the United States we have undergone two great
“spiritual re-awakenings.” I think we are due for another.
In the meantime, the most effective things that can be done to protect
our children, I believe, involve hardening targets and increasing
security measures. Why do our schools have fewer security
measures in place than government buildings? Students should have
ID tags like employees of most large companies are required to show for
admittance and wear while on the premises. Screening devices at
points of entry are reasonable. Doors should be locked during the
school day and only authorized visitors admitted. Armed security
guards are not out of the question, and their nature should be
determined by people in the community. There are many retired
military and law enforcement people who would be happy to
volunteer. Many teachers would have the qualifications.
Potential safety issues could be worked out. We should follow the
example of countries like Israel who accomplish school (and airport)
security so much more effectively than we do.
It’s time to put an end to the political posturing and take effective
action to make schools safe.
|
|
|
|
