Eighteen school shootings in 44 days? Malthus would be proud - We've solved the problem of population excess without resort to birth control or (god forbid) abstinence. Just hand every troubled teen and psychotic adult an assault rifle and "Bob's your Uncle" all population problems are solved.
Seriously folks, does anyone have any ideas that don't involve belief in the RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS? I sure don't. In my lifetime (70+ years) we have gone from a belief that the US Constitution gave permission for police and national guards to have weapons of war and that you and I could be trusted with hunting arms to thinking that any idiot could brandish any weapon he or she could afford.
We all know the results. More than thirty thousand casualties each year in an undeclared war against ourselves. So far we know one thing for certain, thoughts and prayers are not a solution. We also are pretty certain that letting more people walk around with guns will not cut the number of deaths, nor will letting anyone who can afford to own an assault rifle or a gun with a silencer.
Some solutions, like better mental health care, would certainly work, but will we decide to pay for it? We can see from the example of other nations that gun buybacks and restrictions on gun licensing and purchases reduce gun deaths greatly. These are ideas that we must implement if we want to get beyond the thoughts and prayers solution.
Lots of folks worry that if we don't all have guns "only outlaws will have them". That might be the case, except that there are more police and national guard than there are violent criminals by a wide margin. Others are more afraid of their own government and want to guard against them. Maybe they are out to get you, but you must remember that in a democracy you and I are the government.
If we are the government let's act like it and solve the gun violence problem before the next occasion for "thoughts and prayers"
