We're all still processing the horrific news out of Newtown, Connecticut last Friday. I've meant to comment here for days but can never quite think of what to say. I have a six-year-old. This crime hits too close to home. The loss those parents are dealing with I can imagine, but I recoil from. I don't want to imagine it. It's too hard, too painful. All I can do is pray for them.
But as time passes the discussion of how to prevent such a horror will continue. Of course gun control advocates like myself recognize that we now have an opportunity to address a problem that time and time again our country has turned away from. It's been too hard to face, this reality that 30 people a day die from gun violence. We'd rather bicker about fiscal cliffs or watch a football game.
But the killing goes on, and now a tragedy of unimaginable magnitude has shook us to our core. So finally, we're talking about it.
Some of my gun-loving, conservative friends have gone silent since the shootings in Newtown. Others have posted a string of statements about how useless gun control laws are, how we need guns to protect ourselves from incidents like these, and how you'll have to pry their cold dead fingers, etc. etc. etc.
Those latter folks probably are not going to contribute meaningfully to this conversation. Their minds are made up. Not that I don't try to convince them, but I'm kind of masochistic about these things. I don't know when to quit.
But the majority of Americans are not extremists. They recognize there is a time and place for compromise.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has suggested some practical beginning steps. As the mayor of New York, where he claims stricter gun laws have lowered the rate of gun crimes, he has some credibility.
I think his list is a great place to start, and I'll add a few thoughts of my own:
I recognize that a new assault-weapons ban is going to be a tough one for the gun-loving community to swallow. But I think something along those lines is going to be necessary, along with a limit on high-capacity clips. We should probably stop selling guns and ammo over the internet altogether.
More important than the hardware itself is the access. There simply can no longer be any excuse for the many loopholes in background checks for gun buyers. Every purchase, whether it be gun show, retail site, or private transaction, must have a background check. If the systems aren't in place, we need to put them in place. If states aren't doing a good job of enforcing the law, they need to be compelled to do so. This is the most obvious place to start, and one which surely most Americans can agree on.
People who buy guns should be trained on how to use them, how to store them safely, how to prevent them from being misused. We require training to drive a car. We should require training to use a firearm.
We should also have efficient and manageable systems for tracking guns. The NRA has used its influence to make it almost impossible for law enforcement to track guns used in crimes. This has to be addressed. If we can license cars in a way that law enforcement can instantly find their owners, we can do the same with guns. No excuse for delay on this one, either. For the NRA to continue to resist this is for them to admit that they are basically a lobby for criminals, not law-abiding citizens.
Although it's a touchy subject, I'd like to see prospective gun purchasers screened for mental illness. There are surely basic tests that can flag anti-social and overtly violent tendencies. Although it will be tough to know where to draw lines, we should have a system for "red-flagging" anyone who falls below a certain threshold.
Speaking of mental illness, we certainly should include improved mental health resources and policies as a part of this process. In this state and others, disturbed individuals have murdered others after their families have sought in vain to have them institutionalized. There needs to be more discussion on how to balance the rights of mentally ill individuals with public safety. And there needs to be public dollars to help treat them and care for them.
I am not completely opposed the idea of arming teachers. Although I think it's ridiculous to expect teachers to pack heat, I could see one or two teachers or administrators per school taking special training and having a secured firearm in their office (not a classroom). I suspect most teachers oppose this idea but the bottom line for me is the safety of the children and I think this could be a possible solution. Better yet would be an armed security guard at each school in the nation. Any solution along these lines would be very expensive and a terrible statement about our society. But that statement has really already been made, hasn't it?
There are lots of other ideas out there. It's time to start talking about them and enacting them. Doing nothing is not acceptable.
