This is a statement of personal intent and maybe food for thought.
I am giving up my guns.
I have had them for years. Grew up with them as a kid. I enjoy shooting, and think hunting is fine as long as you eat what you shoot.
After yesterday, I am removing myself from the list of gun owners.
No matter what happens now, we all have to decide if we want to change our attitudes towards firearms. Mine changed yesterday. I am not saying give up yours, attempting to dictate right or wrong, or change the 2nd Amendment. But, I (me) do think we need to:
- Make it tougher to get guns.
- Tougher to buy ammo.
- Easier to get mental health services.
- Not stigmatize those with a mental health issue, so that they or those responsible for helping them are not inclined to downplay what could be a serious issue.
- Fund our schools so that instead of having to make constant tradeoffs, they have enough money to abslutely secure a building and a perimeter.
- Deepen our respect for the people that work in schools. This includes not only teachers, but support staff. This means stop minimalizing their worth.
I have to show ID to buy Claritin D. My purchases are tracked. I can walk into a store and buy 500 rounds of 2.23 ammo with nothing but payment.
There is something fundamentally wrong here.
All the rest of the details, pro/anti gun, pro/anti national health care, pro/anti background checks...All these these things are mute if you are unwilling to make a committed change yourself.
I am.
Are you?
In terms of training, it has to be about situational assessment and awareness under stress. How to make the right decision and see the consequences. Too many civilians get tunnel vision in a crises and can end up shooting at someone who is surrounded by people without actually seeing them. Also, untrained civilians have to make snap assessments of when to fire - which is much more difficult than it sounds when you are hyped up on adrenaline, never been in the situation and have never killed someone before. Then actually being steady enough to aim well becomes really hard. It's just not easy for law enforcement, let alone a teacher.
Remember that it is not just a mental health issue, it is also one of crime and self-defense. These high-profile slaughters are truly horrific, but annually do not cause more than a tiny fraction of the deaths and other trauma caused by armed criminals. I'm not sure how people who are unarmed in their homes expect to deal with a violent intruder, but I do know that not even the best police force in the world can possibly be everywhere when it is needed. And leaving me and my family at the mercy of an armed intruder is NOT an option - but then, I am a 10-year Marine veteran with a couple of years of combat time, so my instincts and abilities are a bit different than some other people.
Ohhhh 8 hours of extra training should do the trick? Start following your legislatures and how they VOTE! Republican and Democrat Search the web and see how they voted http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(bbdiqk45ojaqnpqmcwz5kfmc))/mileg.aspx?page=home 2011 Senate Bill 59 December 13, 2012, to exempt concealed pistol license holders who have completed at least eight hours of additional training from the "gun free zone" limitations in the CPL law, which bans licensees from carrying in a certain areas (schools, day care facilities, sports stadiums or arenas, bars, bar/restaurants, places of worship, college dorms and classrooms, hospitals, casinos, large entertainment facilities and courts), except that a school or private building owner could still ban guns. Also, to eliminate county concealed weapon licensing boards, and transfer the responsibility for issuing concealed pistol license (CPL) licenses to county sheriff agencies, and change a number of other details of the CPL law. See also House Bill 5225, which streamlines pistol purchase procedures. Revise concealed pistol license procedures
Anyway, so what is your solution to the problem? I'm seriously interested, not trying to pick an argument here.
I often visit Switzerland, which with its unique military militia system has a citizenry that is armed to the teeth, but it has very little crime - especially violent crime. To paraphrase & adapt an earlier comment, it isn't either guns or people as individuals, "it's the culture, stupid!" - And we have evolved a culture that panders to the barbarians among us. I just don't know if it is possible to pull back from this abyss, but I doubt it.
I think Hillbilly Bravado is accurate. We are in Michigan, so Yankee is accurate as well. Again, if you re-read ( or have someone read it to you..slowly) the original post says nothing about taking guns, removing or changing the 2nd amendment, etc. Today, Dicks' Sporting Goods pulled weapons for sale, and Bushmaster is now up for sale.
Firearms Transaction Record http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_4473#eForm_4473