This is Not the Wild, Wild West: Sandy Hook and The Right to Bear Arms
Truth and Cake
Posted on December 18, 2012
By now you’ve probably watched Piers Morgan tear into the National Rifle Association on CNN. You may have read the statement falsely attributed to Morgan Freeman, blaming the media for the epidemic of mass shootings. Maybe you watched (or participated) in the endless back and forth over gun rights and mental health that’s been taking place across all social media sites.
Maybe you’re tired of it all.
I know I am. Which is why I thought I could skip over this painful mess and write about something upbeat and, I don’t know, normal. We all want to move on. We don’t want to think too hard or too long about the fact that twenty children didn’t wake up and go to school this morning. The trouble is, I don’t feel normal. Do you?
There are some things that are so painful that to ignore them means risking a permanent scar. We have to find ways–writing or debating or lighting a candle–to dislodge the sorrow.
AP Photo/Jason DeCrow via The Vancouver Sun
When news broke about the shootings, my mind registered the outrage but my heart felt nothing, as if a protective mechanism kicked in and said, “Move along. Nothing to see here.” We’ve all been to this horror filled rodeo before. After a while, it’s hard to watch. It’s difficult to feel anything other than helplessness.
On Saturday, I reluctantly sat down at my computer and scrolled through the news. It was a simple list that made me sob. There were no pictures, just a row of twenty-six names and next to each, the age of the victim–the number six repeated over and over and over again. Beneath that: “Every child died of multiple gunshot wounds.”
The Virginia Tech Shootings left me in shock: How can this be? Who would do such a thing? The Aurora shootings had me mildly depressed for weeks. This time, I’m just plain angry.
I am angry that twenty children went to school thinking it was a safe, happy place where they would be protected and didn’t survive the day.
I am angry that we proudly uphold “the rights” of our tiny citizens to one day bear arms, only to see them gunned down by a semi-automatic rifle before they’ve experienced their first kiss.
I am angry that we are having a debate over whether this is a gun thing or a mental health thing.
Because this is a gun thing AND a mental health thing.
Both systems are broken. They need reform. But only one of these issues can be resolved by taking a product off of a shelf.
We can hem and haw and argue over the finer points. But assault rifles that fire multiple bullets per second should not be sold to civilians. Period.
That old saying, guns don’t kill people, people kill people?
Guns kill people ALL of the time. They kill children who get their hands on unlocked cabinets. They kill suicidal teenagers who pull the trigger before they have a chance to reconsider. They kill homeowners who think they are protecting their families but end up shooting themselves instead. They kill unsuspecting movie theatre patrons. And now, they kill classrooms full of six-year olds.
Have you heard of the Akihabara massacre? In 2008, a Japanese man went on a stabbing spree in a heavily populated shopping district in Tokyo. He stabbed twelve people. Eight of those people survived.
That sort of thing just doesn’t happen when the weapon employed is a semi-automatic rifle. In that case, everyone dies.
It’s a fact of life: sometimes one guy (or, in this case, many, many guys) spoil it for everyone.
Gun ownership may be a right. But rights can be revoked when they are abused. This is not the wild, wild west.
In the coming days and weeks, our sorrow will lessen, our anger will subside. We can’t hold onto this kind of pain indefinitely. So we let it go. But what of the parents who will carry this grief around for a lifetime? The kids who will never go to prom or get married, who are stopped in time, their sweet little faces memorialized on a Facebook wall?
Here are some things to keep in mind as the Sandy Hook story inevitably fades into the background:
The U.S. has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. There are 88 guns for every 100 Americans. (Source)
Pro-gun sentiments in the U.S. have gone UP over the last five years. (Source)
In 2010 there were over 5.4 million new firearms manufactured in the United States, nearly all (95 percent) for the U.S. market. An additional 3.2 million firearms were imported to the United States. (Source)
There are 129,817 federally licensed firearms dealers in the U.S. Compare that to America’s 36,569 grocery stores. (Source)
Firearm deaths are significantly lower in states with stricter gun control legislation. (Source)
In 2008, there were 42 gun related homicides in Britain. 11 in Japan. And in the U.S? Over 12,000. (Source 1, Source 2)
The Sandy Hook Shootings caused a SURGE in gun sales. Many people requested AR-15 style rifles, the same assault rifle Adam Lanza used in the Newtown massacre. (Source)
I know we won’t all agree on this loaded topic. But this has to stop, and it won’t unless we get angry enough to speak out. No more children should die prematurely at the hands of a legally (and easily) obtained gun.
Related Articles:
A Land Without Guns: How Japan Has Virtually Eliminated Shooting Deaths
Michael Moore: It’s the Guns–But We All Know, It’s Not Really the Guns
The Geography of Gun Deaths
Why the Next Shooting Massacre is (Sadly) Inevitable
First School Day (what I will not ask of the Newtown Parents)
Categories: Risky Truths, Societal Truths
I hope you’ll also read my NYT oped on line calling for a multi-disciplinary and non-partisan committee, the same suggestion (!) made hours later (hmmmm) by Brooklyn’s DA. This issue is complex and not one easily solved.
You’re absolutely right–the solution will require a discussion involving both sides. Gun ownership is an emotionally complex subject. I understand the appeal of guns for women–protection, sport, a feeling of power. But at what cost? When do we say, okay, I’m willing to sacrifice “my right” if it means a reduction in mass shootings? Adam killed his mother with her own gun. I’m only glad she didn’t live to see the rest of the damage. Mightn’t she, in retrospect, reconsider her stance on gun ownership?
Here’s the link to Caitlin’s insightful piece if anyone else would like to read it: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/12/17/is-the-gun-lobby-invincible/broaden-the-base-of-support-for-gun-control
Thanks for the link. Great read.
Great Post – made me think and reflect! Thanks for sharing – Have a Great Day!
50 per cent of the world’s hand guns are in America, who is only 5 percent of the world’s population!
I, too, am furious about this. How can ANYONE know that 20 children died of multiple gunshot wounds and not see the problem here???
I’m completely broken. I keep imagining the people on the scene having to see their tiny little bodies. How does someone carry on after seeing that?
We have to be able to improve on this.
Did you watch the Piers Morgan clip? That’s essentially what he says (over and over again). There are some things that you cannot sit and debate quietly and calmly. This is one of those things.
I haven’t watched it, but I’m going to right now. I’m usually pretty good at seeing both sides of a story, but when one of the sides has 20 dead children, I lose interest in the other sides justifications.
Gah. I just watched it. How can these people sit there saying that crap and not just burst into flames? Do people actually BELIEVE this???
I do wonder if the people who say things like, “Well, if EVERYONE were armed, we’d all be safer” actually hear themselves or if they are just on some sort of defensive loop. Because that doesn’t make a bit of sense.
Scenario: A young man with a precariously balanced mental state and a mother that is not too tightly wrapped herself. Collecting guns and teaching
her sons to use them, storing food, etc. for the collapse of our society and
possibly the end of our world.. Passing on this outlook to such a delicately balanced child could have had disastrous repercussions. Did it?
My question is, if this were true, why wouldn’t the family of these two have
realized what a ‘powder keg’ they were?
I know what you mean about the numbness. When I heard about the Sandy Hook shooting it wasn’t shock I felt so much as a sense of deja vu/inevitability. (“Not another one…”)
It’s deeply depressing and fundamentally wrong that the words “US school shooting” are so familiar. I hope things change.
I worry that this is going to become a familiar feeling. I hope the government will take action before mass shootings become just another reality of life that we’re all too blasé to care about.
Hi, Rian. This is an excellent post, excellently expressed, as usual. I’m getting spoiled, because even though I rarely comment, I do appreciate the calm and careful consideration and fine writing you contribute to the things you write about. We will never laugh about Sandy Hook, but there is an altered saying of the gun control lobby which, while aimed at the satirically inclined audience, illlustrates my preferred point about gun control exactly. Whereas the gun control lobby likes to wear tee shirts and use bumper stickers which say “I support the right to bear arms,” there is now a new slogan out taking off on this one which can be found on tee shirts and bumper stickers nationwide, and I’ve seen it just recently: “I support the right to arm bears.” My point exactly: who’s really among the helpless here, and who among the to-be-vilified? Certainly the deaths of young children, the most helpless among us all, makes a point we would rather have seen made by the satiric tee shirts.
The right to arm bears– I like it :) Levity sure makes a tough topic a bit easier to swallow. I couldn’t find any while I was writing, so thanks for adding a dose here. It is, indeed, a point we’d all rather have seen made by a t-shirt. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment (and for regularly reading!).
I agree with your stance completely. Especially on how both systems are broken. Even getting funding to help children deal with violence is a tricky road, full of red tape involving evidence: if you can’t prove that you’ve helped prevent someone from attacking another person, then funding groups shy away. Someone has to already exhibit violence or experience violence before they want to fund you. Grant organizations willing to fund prevention only programs are hard to find.
And the argument of legal guns was removed with this shooting, as he pulled that weapon from his mother’s closet, the legal owner of that gun. For the life of me I can’t understand what use an ordinary citizen would have for a semi-automatic weapon.
Sandy Hook was a horrible, heart breaking tragedy. All I can hope is that eyes will open up just a little more and action will begin to take place.
Thanks for contributing your thoughts on this Denise–you have a lot of experience dealing with children who are victims of violence. I can only imagine the immense frustration involved in seeking proper funding and proper care for those children.
There is just SO much red tape all over this mess. Even the rifle used in the shooting slipped through a loophole. Technically, it shouldn’t have been available in the state of Connecticut. But gun manufacturers are tricky and they modified the gun to make it just as deadly but still suitable for sale. No citizen has use for this type of gun. If you just want to play rambo for a day, well then, let’s talk about secure shooting ranges versus gun ownership. Let’s just talk. Seriously, something has to budge.
Very well said. Thanks for writing this Rian, because I just simply don’t think I could.
Excellent post Rian, I completely agree with you
What a well-written post that truly captures the emotions of many around the world. I too, have had enough and now, am just plain ANGRY. And you are 100 per cent right, it’s those who believe they ‘can’ changed the world, who actually do. This has been proven time and time again, but often, we feel powerless in times like this. Thanks for reminding me – it was just the kick I needed.
you couldnt have laid my thoughts into better words. Thank you!
Thank you again!
Last week began with the shooting at Clackamas Town Center, only a block away from the hospital where I work, and ended with the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School…in shock, horrified, and deeply saddened as a mother, as a citizen and as a human being. I too took to writing to try and sift out my feelings, my thoughts and my fears. I feel our society is entrenched in mis-aligned values that showcase them self in events such as this. The right to bear arms…when do one’s rights need to be re-evaluated? To me, when they encroach on the safety and rights of others. Children have rights too… I’m a single woman with a small child, I own a bat not a hand gun. I worked in a sporting goods department in college, I sold guns to hunters as well as hand guns and know to keep a gun “safe” at minimum when not needed (as in a trigger lock and in a locked gun safe) would not provide the immediate protection I felt I needed with an intruder in my home. I also wasn’t willing to accept the risk of having such a weapon in my home versus the benefit of possibly needing it. I won’t accept that this is just the way it is, I’ll never be numb to the loss of lives because I value my own life, my daughter’s life and realize we’re all sons and daughters, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands etc. to someone. I work in healthcare and know of the need for psych beds as much mental health centers (let alone coverage for “pre-existing conditions”), but you see the type of facilities being created are for “volunteer outpatient services” so that likely an insured patient is seeking the need and payment is involved. The power for change resides in each one of us, but to achieve such we cannot become blasé or numb or accepting, but affect change in being living examples. Our government is made up of people, our healthcare administrators as well as lobbyists are people…it begins with us, we the people not accepting this as the way it is.
Well said. I really believe that people are angry enough this time to at least try to get something done before apathy sets in again. (That didn’t come out as optimistic as I thought, but I am truly hopeful.)
What about those in law enforcement and the military? Should only those who up hold the law and defend our country be allowed to have a firearm? A country where only those in power with a weapon is a scary thought indeed.
Yes, shooting incidents happen to many, even to those who are knowledgeable and licensed to hold such a dangerous weapon. But several crazed maniacs do not represent the whole of gun owning Americans who use them for hunting, sporting or for their own piece of mind. Outlawing guns will not eliminate gun related deaths.
I hear you, but….The United States is responsible for over 80 percent of all the gun deaths in the 23 richest countries combined. Take a look at the number of gun related deaths in the U.S. per year (or heck, per day) and weigh that against the intangible need to own a gun that will, statistically, never protect you from anything: having a gun in your home is associated with an increased risk of both firearm homicide and firearm suicide. Basically, owning a gun ups your chances of being killed by a gun. No, several crazed maniacs don’t represent the whole of gun owning Americans. But what I’m suggesting is that the trade off–sensible, responsible people giving up their right to purchase an assault rifle so that mentally unstable people can’t easily get their hands on one–is a worthwhile (and perhaps necessary) one.
Great post today. I’m a peace-loving pacifist and the news in Connecticut shook me to the core. I was physically ill thinking about it and knowing how a part of me would die if anything ever happened to one of my four nieces or nephews (I have two more on the way!) I am really motivated to learn more about gun laws/gun control in the wake of all these events. I have family members with guns and who go shooting and I feel that they are very safe, responsible people and I know they are stand-up people who would protect and defend (the majority of them are military/soldiers). You should also watch this video from Piers Morgan http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=WxNenz7q_eY&feature=endscreen featuring Jesse Ventura who makes some very good points. I think it is insane the type of guns people are able to purchase so easily (but again, I’m not very educated on the process.) I do fear though for any government telling it’s people it cannot own or purchase guns. The government must be FOR the people, but the people ARE the government. I believe in America we must remember that – that the people do have power to make a change. But we have to be honest with ourselves about gun laws and gun control and get to the matter calmly (which is difficult to do in this case since so many poor innocent children were lost.) What a disgusting event. But we cannot expect the government to fix everything or act like the government is separate from the people. Am I making any sense here? I don’t know, but I’m glad more people are having discussions about this.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I also have family members who own guns, and I know that they have only the best intentions. This isn’t meant to be an “us against them kind of thing.” In fact, I get very worked up about generalizations regarding American gun owners. American gun owners are a varied group–many of them look just like you and me.
What I get worked up over is the idea that we have these blanket rights that cannot be altered. If WE the people are the government, then we need to show that we can make sound decisions regarding the safety of our fellow citizens. We need to analyze these events and then take the appropriate actions to prevent future massacres. It’s not an easy task. But starting a conversation and listening to one another with an open mind is a great first step.
I wouldn’t have much problem with the government telling people that they couldn’t own guns… and the question here is in any case one of regulating guns of certain types. It’s already illegal for most people to own grenade launchers. The ‘keep government in check’ angle is really pretty naive. The Daily Mash put it beautifully (as always):
—
they [anti regulation advocates] argue they need assault weapons to protect themselves from the ‘tyranny of their own government’. The American government has aircraft carriers.
—
The way to ensure your government can’t persecute you is to have tight controls on your government and an ethical and stable military and a police force that’s not corrupt etc etc etc. Hell, I’d even be prepared to support neighborhood stockpiles of assault rifles in locked community managed bunkers if that’s what it took to get the things out of peoples garages.
But it’s not what it’ll take, because it wouldn’t serve the goal… because the goal is to HAVE an assault rifle in the attic ‘just in case’.
There’s a certain class of person who likes having an assault rifle because it makes them feel like a badass, and like they’re in control of their destiny. I KNOW there’s such a class of person because I AM one. I think I’m responsible. I want a big gun so I can lay down the law if I need to one day. But I’m *also* clear thinking enough to realize that allowing everyone that freedom would be insane, so I’m happy to trade my freedom to own an assault rifle for my freedom to live in a world in which other people aren’t allowed to own assault rifles.
People who really care about freedom from government oppression campaign for stable government and fight corruption and cronyism. They don’t use assault rifles to do so. People who care about threats to their home security fight for a well funded and honest police force, and a social safety net, and institute neighborhood watch organisations.
I’m sure you’re both right that your family members/friends who own guns are sane and responsible and have the best of intentions. However, who is responsible for continued assessment of these three criteria? And do they have the rights to confiscate the guns if they change?
Good post Ryan.
I struggle to understand this underlying fear that the government is somehow “out to get us.” Have you read the Michael Moore article I linked to? He touches on the fearfulness that drives so many Americans to want a gun (or twenty) on hand, just in case.
Sadly, I think our political divisiveness plays a huge role in this fear. If half of the country is constantly unhappy and wary of the party in office, it’s tough to get people to relinquish what they view as a safeguard.
Owning a gun doesn’t contribute to stability. But it feels like some people are more willing to default to the simplicity of gun ownership than attempt to undertake the more complex task of creating a solid social safety net.
I can understand quite well why people have a lot of skepticism about their government given the results delivered lately by either action or inaction. This (http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/scandal-alert-congress-is-quietly-abandoning-the-5th-amendment/266498/) for example, must be fine grist for the assault rifle advocates mills. But as you say, the sense of security the gun buys is largely false, and definitely the lazy option.
I don’t even know where I stand on this. If it were up to me, I would say that guns should not even exist and mankind should all live in a big happy family that gives hugs instead of middle fingers and share life instead of causing death. But sadly, that’s not the reality of our world. I’m a pacifist so I clearly do not support the idea of anybody owning (let alone using) a gun, but I also understand how this is a very complicated issue to address. Some people are so attached to this notion of a gun representing safety…so much so that it has become a right and necessity. In my naivety, I just wish guns could stop being manufactured and made. Completely. Clearly not a possibility. But, I guess discussing such issues is a great start to finding solutions to terrible tragedies like this. I don’t really know what my point is here other than to thank you, Rian, for once again getting us to think a little more about what has become our “normal”. Your writing (and voice!) is incredible!
I agree that no citizen has any use for automatic/semi-automatic assault type weapons. But I don’t think a law making them illegal to own is going to make much of a difference. If people want them they will find a way to get them. We need to find a way to stop the illegal market for these weapons as well as having a serious discussion about the violence we see so much in movies and games and gory details in the news and how it affects us.
You’re right, people will still be able to obtain guns on the black market. But banning assault weapons is an important statement. Making them legally and easily obtainable is akin to condoning them. And, while someone who wants a gun will still be able to find one, they won’t be able to grab a gun from their mother’s house on the way to an elementary school.
I am in agreement that those types of guns should be legally banned. I just find it very naive of the many people who, since this tragedy, have yelled at the top of their lungs that a law is going to solve the problem. It’s just sadly not that simple.
Why not? Do you honestly believe that everyone who has a semi-automatic weapon (“assault rifle” is a term given by the media, not the gun manufacturers) will turn them in? It is a very naive idea. I applaud you on your idealism, but it’s just not that way. Handle the issues of mental illness treatment and school security programs first so that the crack pots are being cared for and treated and they can’t get access to any more precious children, or worse.
These 20 dear, little hearts will change history. People will no longer ignore this issue. There is a tidal wave of rage over this and it will win. Assault weapons have to go and I will do everything in my power, peacefully, to make sure it happens. You are right Rian, it has to start somewhere, and the time has come. I saw a post…”Why doesn’t someone do something”? Oh yeah, I am somebody.
I find it disturbing that people aren’t up in arms (no pun intended) about the prescription drugs behind these shootings. Many of these shooters were on anti-depressants or other pharmaceutical drugs before creating such tragic events. Why isn’t it being addressed? Why aren’t these dangerous drugs being taken off the market? There are studies that show anti depressants have side affects like suicide!
Here’s an interesting article about this – http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/2000-05-16-School-Shootings-Psychotropic-Drugs.htm
If guns kill people then cars kill people too. In fact, automobiles cause more deaths than guns. Should we ban cars too? Doctors cause more accidental deaths than guns as well.
Maybe we should quit blaming guns and get to the root of this. It’s what is behind the gun that causes the these terrible murders and the guys behind these guns are revealing very disturbed minds that have been drugged.
Taking God and His laws out of the picture doesn’t help either – that’s the very root of it, whether we like to admit it or not.
I’m no expert but I see a distinction. Prescription anti-depressants help a lot of people out of bad situations and prevent more suicides than they cause.
Cars have a primary use as transportation and cause (a lot of) deaths when something goes wrong.
Guns are designed and used for killing. When they kill someone (or something) it is not because the product didn’t work correctly, but because it DID work correctly.
Both prescriptions and automobiles are constantly being researched and improved in attempt to make them safer.
I don’t know the latest trends in weaponry but I think it’s fair to say that as technology has progressed, guns have increased killing capacity, rather than decreased.
Sorry, Rian, about the doubt posts. I thought my computer had messed up on me the first time. :)
I see the distinction you are making, Ms. PC. It would be interesting to see the statistics on all of this. It’s harder to find than I thought it would be.
Any potentially dangerous object is hazardous when handled incorrectly. Guns have saved lives as well, and would have saved lives in this situation had the right person used one correctly.
Gun legislation takes the right to protect the innocent away from the right people, but can do little to ensure the safety of said innocent. Sadly, bad guys will always find guns and use them in spite of laws and legislation.
I have to concede that to a certain extent. The truly bad guys will probably be able to obtain guns illegally. I’m not sure that this 20 year old suburban kid would have been able too though. However, for every mentally ill kid that is stopped by gun control, maybe there is also an innocent person who couldn’t protect herself. It’s hard to quantify with so many variables.
Yeah, because prescription drugs are SO safe and statistics can’t be faked to fit an agenda…
I didn’t say prescription drugs were “so safe” or use any statistics. I just said their primary purpose is to help, rather than hurt, people.
Hi Celeste, as I mentioned in reply to one of your other (three) comments, you’re entitled to your opinion, but please maintain a respectful tone when interacting with other commenters here. Rudeness is unnecessary, unproductive and unwelcome. Thank you.
Thank you Rian, for putting words in my mouth that I am too sad to say myself :(
Word. Thank you for posting this, and doing such a great job presenting the facts.
Rian, I’m so glad you took a clear stand on the topic. The Sandy hook shooting is such a tragedy and touches people so deeply that I have hope for things to change now. Seen from abroad, it’s difficult to understand the gun rights controversy. When accidents after shootings after murders after suicides happen, even just debating the issue seems unthinkable. As an European, I wouldn’t want to enter this debate that isn’t mine, but I admire and support people who do speak out.
Living in Canada, I hear the outsiders perspective all of the time, and it’s not pretty. People are just dumbfounded by this issue (or rather, why it’s an issue at all). And it’s tough to make a good case–it’s tough to explain America’s obsession with guns and why people feel entitled to own them. I really hope that this tragedy finally spurs people to action (Obama has announced that he’ll be presenting gun control proposals in January, which is a great start), but historically, mass shootings have done very little to change people’s minds about gun ownership. Let’s hope these tiny faces finally do.
I just read a post from Small Dog about using anger as a positive tool. This would be the time for anger to force change.
Yes, I agree. I usually try to find the grey in an issue and write something a bit more balanced. But not this time. Things need to change.
Thank you. I am not a gun fan. I’ve never wanted one, and I don’t see a place for them in society. But sometimes I read things written by gun enthusiasts and I question myself and whether I’m just being knee-jerk liberal and small-minded. But no. You’re right, and you put it so well. They’re wrong. Honestly, what horrified me most about this last one was my lack of shock. These happen so often now. It needs to stop.
I can’t get over how very well-written this post is. Fully agree with EVERYTHING you wrote.
Just, thank you.
I agree. Every single word.
It’s just crazy, crazy. I live across the street where a shooting did take place a couple years ago and if my son was little, I’d be homeschooling. I would never take a chance.
Oh my goodness … 88 guns for every 100 Americans .. that is just absurd!!!
You are right; we don’t all agree on all the points in this post. I am no longer certain where I am in this matter. I still maintain that people should have a right to own and use firearms responsibly. Sandy Hook did not remove this idea, but it has altered me in some subtle ways and it will take awhile for me to incorporate it all. I do not own a gun; i have thought about it and just not done it. However, I like the idea that I could if I chose to. I see something wrong with a nation in which it is not legal at all. Now, not owning automatics? Yes, I agree. I, perhaps, agree with not owning semi-automatics as they can be so easily converted.
I won’t sign this as Scott; he is a little of a mess right now.
Namaste,
Confused
“I see something wrong with a nation in which it is not legal at all.”
In the Uk we see it as obvious that guns are illegal. They are only used for killing or theats of killing (same thing in the end). In all my years I have not met one person in this country who ever said that it was absurd we don’t get to own guns. We have the gun clubs, the sporting guns, the hunters and farmers. When a gun is used in a crime in this country, it’s big news!
So please rest assured that there are many civilised countries who have no desire to have guns.
You’re right, this is not the Wild Wild West; there were actually stricter gun regulations back then.
This is ridiculous. What about the man that stabbed (and killed) 30 kids in China that same week? Semi-automatic rifles are one thing, but to tell people that they should give up every gun they own (get a gift card!) is beyond stupid! Because we all know that criminals follow the laws…
Hi Celeste,
You are more than welcome to voice your opinion here, but you’ve now done so several times on this post, and I would respectfully ask you to try and maintain a polite and productive tone when interacting with others on my blog.
Thank you.