People have been talking about changing gun laws for some time ever since Columbine.
Theater shootings. Mall shootings. School shootings. How did we, as a society, get to the point of having people be oblivious to hit and runs, murdering others’ for shoes, steal for money and kill innocent children?
What is the root cause of our behavior?
Are there more mental illnesses going undetected? No.
Do people defy medications, thinking they are helping themselves when they are, in fact, a danger to society? No.
Is it out of pure, unequivocal anger toward another? No.
Do we need stricter gun laws? Read below for my point of view.
Is it a total lack of accountability? YES.
The number of innocent people being killed by guns is not because of gun laws. It’s the people who own them. They have to be accountable for their actions.
From the highest forms of government to kindergartners, we have learned there is no accountability for our actions. “Everyone is a winner.” Play on a soccer team at six years old and you’ll see that whether or not you win or lose, everyone gets a prize.
From the fiscal cliff, to drivers with numerous DUI’s who are still driving behind the wheel, there are lawyers, government officials, parents and other various individuals who kick the proverbial “social issue stone” down the road, and push the blame on someone else.
At the end of the day, we listen to the voice in a box thru social media, television news anchors, and political pundits, in order to form an opinion. Not your own individual opinion, but getting help in forming what you think is your opinion based on what popular figures tell you.
We can talk about stricter gun laws. Which, by the way, Illinois is the only state that does not allow a person to conceal a weapon on their person. THE ONLY STATE. If you want stricter gun laws and having people be more accountable as they should be, looking at their criminal records is not enough. You need to look at their mental/health history as well.
This brings up a completely different agenda: Having government look into your medical records.
Currently, mentally ill people who get guns only need to state on a form that they have never been institutionalized and have never had the need for medication for a mental illness. Here’s a novel suggestion: If you want accountability and stricter gun laws, then the government needs to get involved and look at who is wanting to purchase a weapon and check up on their medical records to see if, in fact, the form they have filled out is honest and trustworthy.
Responsible gun owners lock up their guns. They put them in a place where no one can get to them. If someone lives with a mentally unstable person, they should take the proper precautions and have an emergency plan to ensure that legally purchased weapons are locked safely away and out of reach of those who may harm others’. Or better yet, don’t have them in your home at all.
This didn’t happen in Newtown, CT.
It’s gut wrenching to see these parents find out that their six year old child is dead because of someone who decided upon waking up today, they were going to murder a kindergarten class. What’s worse is that those children that witnessed it, got bloodied by it and heard the screams, will forever be scarred by the horrific actions of one person. And, that one person, Adam Lanza, probably wouldn’t have killed all of those children on that fateful Friday morning if he couldn’t gain access to his mother’s guns.
The sadness of this senseless crime is beyond words. The families that lost their precious children and the other children who witnessed a tragedy that we as adults can’t understand.
Whatever the reason this shooter or any other shooter has had I am so sick of it. None of their reasons justify their actions of killing innocent people.
You are absolutely right there is a severe lack of accountability. And inability to be responsible for one’s actions. It’s ALWAYS someone else’s fault,that they didn’t have a mom / dad in their life, adhd, bullied, poor, fired from job, blah blah woe is me blah… Throughout time people have had childhood trauma or unfortunate life issues but there wasn’t quite as many public mass shootings in the media. (I won’t even go into the angry disgusted rant I have of them interviewing children that were at the school.)
I want to know When did this become the answer or coping mechanism to life sucking or not going the way we dreamt it to be? How do we prepare our children for the disappointments in life that are most certainly going happen? Perhaps we should stop giving first place ribbons to everyone just because they showed up and teach kids how to earn & work hard for what they want and that everything isn’t going to be handed to them because they want it.