Tucson to Newtown - lives destroyed, but guns live
This blog began in response to the horrendous shooting in Tucson, AZ almost two years ago. While there have been some political ramblings, I haven't written much.
It is the day after the Newtown, CT elementary school shooting, which took the lives of 20 children only a year or two older than our twins and seven adults. Our hearts go out to the families of this unspeakable tragedy. We cannot imagine the pain and suffering they must be going through right now. We hugged our children extra tight the last two nights. I woke up this morning in a cold sweat from a nightmare -- replaying the shooting as if it occurred when I was a child in school. I ran away and then woke up to read the papers this morning.
We still don't know much about the shooter's intent or circumstances, nor do we have a full understanding of how he got access to the guns and why.
Understanding the mind and motives of the shooter might make some feel better, but there is little chance that knowledge can prevent future shootings. We cannot get into the minds of 300+ million American citizens to stop them from committing potentially heinous crimes- whether on impulse or after weeks or months of planning.
We can't throw up our arms, but it seems like we have over the last two years. After nearly a dozen "random" shootings - there have been virtually no public policy solutions proposed. Whether out of fear for the political repercussions brought on by the NRA, or laziness, or lack of imagination, we are nowhere.
What can we do to stop these killings? I'm not sure yet.
Closing gun show loopholes? Good idea, but probably wouldn't have saved these children.
Re-instating the federal assault weapons ban? One step that could have taken one of the guns out of the shooter's hands.
Limit the number of firearms a citizen can keep at one time? Certainly could have forced the shooter's mom to reduce her arsenal sitting at home with an unstable 20 year old.
Mandatory trigger locks or fingerprint IDs for weapons to the registered user? That could have rendered these guns unusable by this killer.
National gun licensing? Perhaps that could have allowed for a cross check of the gun owner living with an emotionally unstable son.
There must be other public policy solutions. Let's discuss them. Let's find a way to prevent these outrageous acts of violence. Let's protect the second amendment, but not at the expense of our children and other innocents. And let's do this before our families are threatened again.
Below is a brief post from my better half tonight on Facebook. She is far more eloquent than I am (always, not just on this subject). I hope you take a moment to read it -- she's right, as usual.
"Can we please abandon the fiction that the answer to bad guys with guys is more good guys with guns? Some have suggested that arming teachers could have reduced the carnage. Sure, if the teachers happened to be ex-military sharpshooters, trained to fire accurately and stay calm under insane conditions. Sure, if the teachers were Batman. Likewise the theatergoers in Aurora—if only one had been armed with a gun (and night-vision goggles) to shoot the devil who appeared in the dark. The idea of arming good guys is ridiculous—that’s a fantasy for comic book movies, not for schools and theaters and malls and real life. In real life, when good guys get shot at, they scream and cry and run and hide and shove babies into closets to save them. In real life, good guys dive on top of their girlfriends and duck behind movie seats. In real life, they cradle their husband who was already shot. In real life, they dial 911 with trembling hands. In real life, good guys whimper and moan and vomit in fear. They are heroic in their humanity… in their vulnerability. They are heroic because they bear witness. To ask them—as their world turns to hell around them—to do otherwise… to ask them to morph instantly into a comic book avenger… it’s not just ridiculous. It’s dehumanizing."