Newtown Massacre

December 26, 2012

Newtown massacre: What do we do now?

As the nation continues to share the suffering of the Newtown, Conn., victims and their families, the debate on how to prevent recurrences of similar tragedies expands.

As usual, much of the mainstream broadcast media fan the flames of another tragedy to gain viewers, ratings and revenue. And, as usual, not having actual facts hasn’t prevented them from sharing imagined ones. This tragedy again shows many TV reporters spending excessive time expressing their personal opinions instead of reporting the facts as known. And, once again, our elected leaders pander to their loyalists instead of uniting in taking the best actions for our nation.

As expected, the gun control debate has reignited. Those favoring controls plead for limiting firearm ownership by private citizens as the only way to prevent recurrences. On the opposite side, some in the pro-gun crowd support the notion of all teachers and staff in schools being allowed to carry firearms in order to deter attacks and even possibly to fight back and reduce carnage.

This important debate, which should be held, must include a broader perspective than just controlling gun ownership if we hope to prevent this slaughter of the innocent from happening again.

We visited our grandchildren during Thanksgiving. My 10-year-old grandson was playing a game on his Xbox that involved killing as many zombies as possible. He asked me if real zombies existed. I asked why he wanted to know. Now, following Newtown, the answer he gave is chilling: “I would like to kill some real ones.”

Much of the blame for gun violence must be aimed at parents of children and society at large. Our movies too often depict mindless violence, and too many parents allow their children to see these shows because, as adults, they know it’s not real. Too many children and the mentally ill may not see it the same way.

We need to rate movies containing violence the same way we do for pornography. We must find ways of preventing our impressionable children from taking pleasure in killing other humans as the objective of video games so often used to keep them occupied.

We must provide armed security for our citizens in any venue (including schools) where we gather in sufficient numbers that could possibly attract a mass murderer. Surely using some of our military funding in this manner would make more sense than playing the role of the world’s police force.

We must find better ways to identify and treat the mentally ill and make certain they have absolutely no access to firearms. We must find ways to reduce firearms sales by anyone not licensed to sell them. Nearly half of all weapons are sold by private individuals who bypass the background checks required by licensed firearm sellers in most states.

I have had a concealed carry firearm permit for many years in order to protect my family. Here the permitting process is quite thorough. Applicants first take a gun safety course from a licensed provider. This involves viewing a video on gun laws and safety, then passing a written test, and proving the ability to hit a stationary target.

Next is a trip to the county Sheriff’s Office to be vetted. Fingerprints are sent to the FBI to verify no criminal record. Then the Sheriff’s Office staff sends letters to the applicant’s personal physician and the county mental health department to verify no record of treatment for mental illnesses.

If every gun purchaser had to go through a similar vigorous background check, we would drastically reduce gun possession by the wrong people. Why not consider using the concealed carry permit process for anyone who wants to purchase firearms and ammunition? Why wouldn’t law-abiding citizens support a gun ownership permitting system, just as we have for driving?

Government officials at all levels need to massively expand gun buyback programs in order to remove some of the millions of unneeded weapons from circulation.

What about so-called assault weapons? I don’t own this type of weapon and honestly can’t figure out a reason for anyone else to, but I’ll wait to hear others’ opinions on that issue. Frankly, many modern semi-automatic handguns can hold up to 18 rounds of powerful ammunition. The two handguns the Newtown killer had were more than sufficient to have accomplished his fiendish aims even if he didn't have access to the rifle.

I do not believe we will or ever should completely ban private citizens from owning firearms. Too many really bad people out there do have guns, and they have repeatedly proven they can and will use them against honest citizens. My wife tells me I would never get to one of my guns in time if needed. I always answer that I certainly could not if I did not own one.

Gun control supporters should remember that Connecticut has some of the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation. What good did they do? Gun control laws will never stop crazy or evil maniacs!

These are my opinions. What do you think?

Mike Tower
miketower@bellsouth.net

I hope you will take time to read what a good pal of mine thinks at:  Lee's Political Opinions, and also visit the site for an organization we co-founded called:  Citizens Against Politics As Usual.