Guns and Shootings

Here we have another shooting. Breathless media persons immediately bring us conflicting and erroneous information from the scene. Even in this chaotic situation, the pressure is on to be the first to report something -- anything. Accuracy is only a secondary concern.

Without delay, we have the outcry for more gun control, along with crackdowns on violence in movies, video games, music, books and anything else that might be seen or heard by the public. Zero tolerance measures are eagerly embraced. Those are procedures for the mindless, relieving them of the necessity to contemplate the severity of an offense and respond appropriately. This results in six-year-olds being carted off by police because they mimed shooting someone with their hands.

Then the issues become politicized. The government must do something. Extremists on each political side play a nasty game of tug-of-war over a mud hole, so that everyone gets dirty and frustrated but no one wins anything. No solutions can be agreed upon, so after a bit of shouting, blustering and pushing, everyone goes home, takes a shower and waits 'til next time.

Needless to say, these shooters are troubled people. They were troubled before they acted and would have been troubled even if they never came across any type of violent media. While some of the entertainment media they were exposed to may have somewhat exacerbated their fantasies, they had psychological issues within themselves already. We can't ban everything that might hint of violence because some people are disturbed. We would then have to ban just about everything.

Think of this. When I was a child there was violence on television, in movies, games and books. Lots of it. Our favorite cartoons were violent. We had Tom & Jerry, Road Runner, Bugs Bunny and others. Even the Three Stooges were violent. Most of us never considered doing what we saw in those examples to other people. We played with toy guns (cap guns were great!), played cowboys and Indians, and war with little green plastic army men. We knew the difference between reality and fiction.

There were bullies, spankings, unfair treatment, dysfunctional families, abusive parents, alcoholic and violent parents, divorced parents, etc. We had fights and gripes and grudges, pain in the a__ teachers and that horrible, confusing, embarrassing period called puberty; yet most of us never even contemplated shooting people or killing them in other manners. Some kids carried switchblades or razor knives, but those rare few were considered the bad ones to be avoided.

My Dad had a gun and we all knew where he kept it. Just hearing the sound of that big gun firing let us know that we didn't want any part of it. Besides, if you valued your skin you knew not to mess with Dad's gun. Ever.

So what happened that caused such a radical change in how young people handle difficult situations? I certainly can't say I know for sure, but I believe it to be a multi-faceted problem. There is no magic bullet that will put this growing problem to rest and I believe solutions would vary for each individual.

I had a very bad, bullied childhood myself and I don't think I would have made it through school if I had not found something extra-curricular that I was good at. Music and band kept me going to school and enduring it all just so I could shine as a musician.

I believe the home environment plays a crucial part in a child's life. Finding something the child is good at and enjoys, then encouraging them to do it is a great help. If there are psychological issues, they need to be addressed by professionals who can gain the trust of the patient enough to get them to open up, and it should not be a source of embarrassment. Everyone should have access to mental health care if needed, but mental health is the first thing to be cut when "we all have to sacrifice." Really? So the victims that might have been saved if the shooter(s) got proper care are the sacrifices?

Showing that you care enough to discipline, support, listen and offer praise, trying your best to understand is another necessity. I believe we all need to feel that we belong somewhere other than on the outside in the scheme of things. People have become more isolated, so there is often no one to reach out to these days.

I don't own a gun, but I have taken a gun safety course and I intend to buy one for my house. Some police officers will tell you that you need to protect yourself because the police arrive after the fact.

I've heard many positions on how to provide more effective gun control. Some are ludicrous and ineffective. A couple of them do grab my attention:

More laws in addition to the ones that are not being enforced now. (Laws do not deter criminals and crazy people. So you're punishing everyone other than the wrongdoers.)

Automatic death penalty for gun crimes. (This will not matter to crazy criminals.)

Add a huge tax on guns and ammunition. (Now everyone will be forced to buy illegal guns if they want a weapon. Is that good?)

Ban assault weapons and guns with more than 10 rounds to a clip. (Sounds reasonable. Sounds like something that should probably happen, but won't stop crazy criminals from buying illegally.)

More thorough background checks. (Sounds reasonable. Sounds like something that should probably happen, but won't stop crazy criminals from buying illegally.)

Anyone caught illegally possessing a gun gets mandatory prison time. (This actually sounds good. Gets criminals off the streets and might make them think a bit before acting. But... I really hate zero-tolerance laws, because there is always an exception to the rule. Let's say a woman's ex-husband has threatened to kill her. She needs protection now, so her brother leaves one of his own guns with her. The ex comes by, kicks her door in, enters her house and she shoots him. The gun is illegal because it is not registered to her. Should she go to jail?)

There is no fool-proof solution. There almost never is. Some of these might help, while others sound like a waste of time. I'd like to hear some other ideas.