Letter to the editor: Gun Safety

There are shared views by a diverse group of people having and a general consensus concerning gun control. Conservative leaning political affiliated people seem to defend the position of our Second Amendment and guarantee our right to arm ourselves for protection. Others tilt toward stricter gun control and enforcement of the current laws and are a bit more liberal. It’s encouraging to know the common interest of the two groups are similar in that they both want something done about the awful school shootings and other mass killings.
Something needs to be done about the craziness of those that revert to a mass shooting in order to make such a nonsensical act. It matters to so many of us on a personal level. It is important to ensure we never have a break-down in society and have an act like the one that happened last week in the Florida High School and so many lives are lost. Gun violence is something that needs to be stopped. Its going to take a lot of effort and determination from everybody.
It’s apparent a problem exist with an individual that commits such a horrific act of murdering other people as some unnatural event happens in a persons life. Why? Evidently the person, committing a shooting, is not acting according to “normal” behavior. There has been a break-down of something somewhere. Did the offender get lost in the “Real World”? This is what usually happens when a person resorts to such abnormal behavior. Ignored and left to his own accord.
Suggestions made, through the media, by most of the responders in the last few days, have indicated a couple of points and suggestions made to avert such an act in the future. One suggestion made was to increase security at the schools. This is a great idea. Another suggestion was to take away guns from people and make more laws that will curtail offenders from owning a gun. This is a horrible idea. We already have so many laws that it is fruitless to enforce so many of them. And creating a new law is not the answer.
After the shooting in Vegas, at the concert, the radical left wanted another law that would have made “bump stocks” illegal. This would have had no impact on the shooting in Florida if the bump stock law had been made. Shortly after the Florida event those concerned people thought AK47’s need to be outlawed. How much impact would this have on the next shooting? There are millions of guns out there already and a weapon can be made from almost anything.
If you “see something – say something”. What a great idea. That shooter in the Florida High School had been reported to the authorities including the FBI. He had been expelled from school three or four times. Where was the break-down.
The action of shooting a bunch of other individuals happens, not because they are “crazy”, but usually because they are extremely mad about something. They have been ignored at a critical time in their world. A troubled person is not that hard to recognize. Help is essential at this point. The kid setting in the back of the classroom in a state of “day dreaming” is someone needing help at that time. Usually ignored because of a reason that is so common these days because of lack of resources, incompetent instructors not being aware or some other reason and they all need to be fixed.
When a person is put on “the list” and identified as a potential problem it is imperative that the follow up is done in order. There needs to be an extensive “follow-up” procedure. This is the point of break-down that needs attention and a program initiated to insure the persons needs are meet and our safety assured. Identify the person, refer to an agency that will follow up and that agency needs to be consistent and persistent making sure the necessary things are implemented to remedy the problem. Intensive follow up.
Couple points of interest in helping solve the problem of gun misuse are necessary and need to be implemented in society, quickly. Education is a good source for implementing a good preventive maintenance program. Early education gun safety program. Teach the children about guns and how to handle them. It’s much better than sweeping the issue under the rug. Inform them that all guns are loaded. Show them where the guns are kept and that they are not to touch them at any time. When they are at a friends house and the friend shows his parents gun, they should get away as quickly as possible and tell an adult about the incident. The adult can then take care of the problem and follow up. I quiz my kids on this drill intently.
Archie Bunker on his program during the 70’s, did a rebuttal on TV of someone insisting on removal of guns in our society. It was during the time when a lot of airline hijacking was taking place. The anti gun person was calling for stricter gun control. Archie said the best method was to arm all the passengers. The hijacker would then be afraid to act because of everyone having a gun. Makes too much sense.
More concealed carry permits with much better training, to obtain the privilege to carry, will help deter aggressive behavior. Those mass shooters, terrorists, are all a bunch of cowards. If they think they will get hurt in their irresponsible act they will be much less inclined to take that chance. Sometimes they want to go out in a blaze of glory and commit suicide by cop.
Our kids are scared, confused and are calling for action about gun violence. Are we going to make a new law and pretend that this is doing something or are we going to get something in the works that will actually make a difference as well as make us more safe? A program with follow up may do the trick.
Craig Anderson
Emery, Utah