I grew up in the Midwest, in the small town of Excelsior Springs, MO, famous for the Elms Hotel and natural spring water. It’s probably now considered a suburb of Kansas City. I haven’t been back in over 20 years since moving to New England for college but, I still feel a connection to my Midwestern roots and values having grown up there.
I don’t recall exactly how long ago, but when I was little, my neighbor died. He was cleaning his gun and accidentally shot himself. Mr. Rooney was the first (and only) individual I know/knew personally, who had died because of guns. He was in his home. It happened when he was taking care of his gun. From this moment on, I developed a healthy fear of guns, because they were dangerous.
A few years later, my classmates at Lewis Middle School and I took a gun safety class. During our PE period, we watched a movie, had in-class discussions, and took target practice with BB Rifles. At the end of the session, we took a test to prove we had learned something about the dangers of guns and how to safely handle and shoot one. Back then, gun safety was simply part of our education, like health and sex ed were. From this point on, I have had a healthy respect for guns, as dangerous machines. But, I still feared them.
A few years later, my high school classmates and I got our MO state driver’s licenses. But before we could drive, we had to apply for a permit. Then, we studied traffic rules and and practiced driving. After that, we passed the written test and finally, took the driver’s test. It was quite a process, especially for a 16 year old! These classes and tests exist today, because Americans respect the fact that cars and motorized vehicles can be dangerous machines.
So dangerous, in fact, that we have seat belt laws, car seat laws, drunk driving laws, driving and texting laws and many others to prevent the loss of lives and prosecute those who intentionally, under the influence, or distractedly cause harm or death.
By no means am I advocating gun and shooting classes be part of every middle school curriculum. Nor am I advocating a training and testing process for guns, like we have for driving. I simply wonder why it’s so difficult to implement laws around the purchase and sale of guns, when we were able to pass laws related to driving and protecting lives so easily.
From what I understand, in some states, it’s very easy to purchase any kind of gun-- automatic, semi-automatic, rifle, pistol, musket, Saturday night specials. It can be as quick a transaction as buying a coffee at Starbucks. I don’t understand why people scoff at the idea of more thorough background checks and waiting periods. Anyone who has a legal driver’s license went through a “process” before they could legally drive or own a potentially dangerous weapon - a car. Perhaps, I’m naive. Why is it so hard?
I know not everybody purchases guns with the intent of harming or destroying human life. I don’t think anyone who gets a driver’s license does either. But it happens and we need laws to help it happen less.
Enough is enough.
