I Can't Stop Crying

The events this week in Newtown Connecticut have left me a weeping pile of despair. I have no children of my own, and cannot fathom what it is like for the parents of those children whose lives were taken. I don't think I have felt like this since 9/11. While I want to try and shut it out, so I will stop crying, I know that is exactly the wrong thing to do. Every time a mass shooting like this happens, it stays in the news cycle for a week or so, then falls into background out of our focus. At some point, and if NOW isn't it, I don't know when it will ever be, we need to keep it in focus. Change is required to minimize the ability for these things to happen. I am a realist, so I believe we can never eliminate the possibility of things like this occurring.

So what can we do? The first thing we can do is stop ignoring the problem. It took almost no time at all for the NRA proponents to come out with their "guns don't kill people, people kill people" bullshit. The republican lawmakers are already deflecting the fact that our gun control laws are insufficient by focusing solely on the mental health of the perpetrator(s)(of course they fail to mention that they are also in favor of cutting funding for mental health services). I personally believe that people with no mental health history at all are capable of snapping and doing something with a gun.

The fact of the matter remains that these is no legitimate reason for a person to own automatic and semiautomatic weapons. Does anyone need a Bushmaster to hunt deer or small game? Obviously not. So this is a nobrainer - reinstate the ban on "assault weapons".

Why are concealed weapons legal? Other than law enforcement, I see no reason for this. Stop issuing concealed weapon permits. And Yes, I believe the government should come and take away handguns. They are not legitimate weapons used for hunting, and have no use other than for people to kill people.

Background checks are insufficient. State laws vary, and at places like gun shows or private sales of guns, there is no background check at all. This most certainly need to be fixed. Why is it that we are able do this more effectively with automobiles, but yet we cannot do it with guns? Since guns do not recognize state lines, this in my opinion is not something that should be regulated by states, but rather should be subject to federal laws. Every state should have the same stringent laws that are enforced.

Technology. I recall seeing something on 60 minutes a few years ago that a gun manufacturer had a technology that wouldn't allow a gun to be fired except by it's owner - using some bio-metric (finger print I think?). I'm sure there are other things that can be done using technology to help prevent these things from happening.

Bottom line is this: We need to do SOMETHING. I don't want to cry anymore.