When Will America Wake Up?
Again,we’re confronted by another senseless tragedy, this time, 20 children and five adults killed in an elementary school in Connecticut, as well as the shooter’s mother. I hate writing about such topics ,and yet I feel I must, if only to add my voice to others pleading for reason. I also feel I must write about this as I have three beautiful grandchildren and a daughter who’s a teacher. She teaches little ones like the ones who are now forever lost to their families; she is also as dedicated as the one who laid down her life to save her students.
When will America wake up? When will Americans see what the rest of the world sees? This great country, a model for democracy to others living in tyranny, can’t or won’t solve her gun problem. The problem is many Americans don’t think they have one. When crimes of this nature happen, their solution is to go out and buy more guns. One gun shop owner stated he had his best day yet in four years following the Connecticut shootings.
And so the insanity continues.
I’m a Canadian and though we share a common language and pop culture and show a similar multi-cultural face, we differ a great deal in what we hold dear. Canada is a more liberal country, with liberal ideas about gay marriage, marijuana, and abortion. We believe in universal health care for all and yet when it comes to gun control, we have strict laws and rules about purchase and ownership. In stark contrast, America by and large struggles with the liberal ideas that Canada embraces, and when it comes to gun ownership, there seems to be no barriers to gun purchase and ownership.
Yes, we do have our own horror stories from time to time, but there is no comparison to what Americans face on a daily basis.
Obama in his recent speech at a memorial service in Newton, Connecticut expressed his sorrow and stated emphatically that these tragedies had to stop. I hope this time it’s more than just lip service. In Toronto, the chief of police said Americans have to decide what they love more – guns or kids.
Obama also mentioned the need to look at treatment of the mentally ill—those who hear voices, who may be on drugs with side affects so horrendous that they are compelled to lash out and/or kill themselves like the shooter in Connecticut. They walk amongst us. They are in our families, our workplaces, and they live next door. They are the elephants in the room.
But it’s not only the mentally ill that are responsible for the insane number of Americans killed by guns within the USA. Many are victims of domestic abuse, blue on blue incidents, road rage, gang wars, and domestic accidents, to name a few. As a clinical social worker, I’ve conducted workshops on anger management, a tough problem for many (even normal folk), as rage unleashed has a life of its own. How many of us have been in a situation where we’ve said things or done things we regret later? How many of us can recall times when we’ve been personally out of control, and we’re talking here of normalcy. Normal behaviour. The person with over the top anger issues cannot think straight and who can when they’re emotionally upset? If the person is also mentally ill, you have a combustible situation. That’s why easy access to guns is particularly dangerous .
America’s opposition to gun control seems to be inexplicably tied to the American’s right to bear arms, as conceived in their constitution, which was written in 1791. The right to bear arms made sense back then when it was the wild west, and there were all kinds of unknown dangers. There was lawlessness, and a man needed to protect himself. As Michael Moore pointed out in his recent newsletter, back then, it took 15 seconds to load one shot into a musket. The Connecticut shooter used an assault rifle that fires 30 rounds a pop.
It makes no sense for someone in a civilized nation to be able to buy assault weapons. It makes no sense to be able to procure them and ammunition and other paraphernalia without some kind of screening. Hunting game is a sport I have questions about but I’m not about to judge as most people eat meat, at least on occasion. But how many guns do you need to hunt game, and if you’re not a hunter, why even have one?
On a recent trip to London, during the Paralympics, I saw a news story about a shooting of two female police officers, who were patrolling their beat unarmed, which is standard practice in the UK. There was naturally a public outcry, asking for police officers to be armed. Though there was much discussion, the police superintendent reminded the public, that once armed, the police were in greater danger of blue on blue incidents (meaning officers killed or injured by a fellow officer). He further stated that arming the police would encourage criminals to buy bigger guns, and the result would be a higher number of violent crimes.
Children are our greatest national treasure. They are jewels in our midst. At times like this, we need to pray for the families of the children and adults lost in the recent tragedies in Connecticut and Aurora. We also need to pray that those who have the power to change the laws in favour of gun control will do so with the utmost haste. Someone has to restore sanity to the wondrous country of America. Someone has to say no to guns, and yes to kids, our most precious resource.
I’d love your comments. And if you agree, check out Michael Moore. Give him your support. He has a big heart and is working for all of us. Also, Newtown United , members of the community where the tragedy happened, would welcome your support. Thank you.
Diana, please read what I wrote when I posted the link to your blog on my FB page. Thank you for having the courage to say what needs to be discussed openly. You have handled it full on but with compassion. I dipped my toe in the water with a previous FB posting but you have spoken most articulately for me and so many others. I love our American friends and neighbours and my heart breaks for the carnage that seems to be increasing by their country’s stubborn refusal to do anything about their gun laws. Thank you for caring enough to put yourself out there on this critical issue.
Thanks, Karen, I’ve been so distraught by the carnage south of us. I have no idea what those families are going through, having lost their precious children. Mental illness is a challenging illness and is not always manageable by the individual, his family, caregivers or community. Some of that is out of our control, but access to guns is not. It’s time the USA does something about the problem. It also affects us Canadians, as recent stats. suggest that 70% of our gun-related crimes are by guns bought through USA markets.
While the U.S. constitution gives them the right to bear arm’s lets hope this tragic event applies some common sense to that right. Such as proper criminal checks,rules on storage of fiearms and ammo and the end to the loopholes at gunshows.But an AGW ban will have effect on the billion plus firearms already in the hands of mostly legal, honest gun owners. Most disturbing is how the focus on mental health and its funding will be overshadowed by the gun debate. Take a look at similar incidents over the past several years and mental state or lack of meds no doubt had a major affect on the outcome along with easy access to a firearm. Sometimes I wonder if this is just another symptom of a once great nation falling apart while its leading fight amongst themselves for a second term.
Great comment, Bob. I keep thinking the same thing. Each side is so caught up in being more right than the other side, that they’re missing the big picture. So many innocent lives lost. I learned that in the USA, it’s more difficult to buy a handful of sudafed tablets than it is to buy a gun. Wal-mart is the biggest seller of guns in the USA. Profit and greed over common sense, and the lives of children.
As for mental health, the jury is still out on that. Sometimes the meds a mentally ill person is on has side affects that lead them to homocide and/or suicide. Americans right now are focusing on mass murders, but they also have to look at every day murders, like the cops shot (whether it’s by criminals or blue on blue incidents), domestic violence, drive-by shootings, etc. Easy access to guns is first and foremost the main problem.
Hi Diana. The issue is so very complicated. I’ve won medals for sharpshooting but I won’t keep a gun in my house. I have a German shepherd dog instead. My concern is the same as Bob’s – access to guns by people who have no business ever carrying a gun or for that matter, getting behind the wheel of a car. We have far too many untreated and under-treated mentally ill people walking around and we do not have the resources to help them – neither do their families.
Obviously we need to make sure bad guys and crazy people never have guns, but this is hard to control. I don’t think outlawing all guns is the solution because then only bad guys will have them.
I do think we need to pay more attention to the prevalence of increasingly violent movies and video games. Obviously a normal kid isn’t going to be influenced to commit violent acts by movies and video games – but the people committing these acts aren’t normal.
What I keep asking myself over and over again is why was this very disturbed child allowed access to guns?
Smart to have a German shepherd instead of a gun. I just read someone’s blog, where she mentioned her grandfather killed her grandmother. Her grandfather had post-traumatic stress from the Korean war and in his advanced age he also had dementia. He argued with his wife over the will, and took a gun and killed her. The first two- PTS and dementia were out of his control, but having guns in the house was his choice. He could’ve controlled that. Unfortunately, in a moment of anger, he exploded. So, it’s not just the mentally ill who pose a danger. And yes, I agree with you, I wonder as well, what the shooter’s mother in Connecticut was thinking when she allowed her son to have access to guns.
As for not outlawing guns because then the bad guys would be the only ones who had them, how do you explain what the British have discovered? They found by not arming their police, they have fewer incidents of accidental deaths by guns- blue on blue, or shooting a supposed criminal. The police superintendent believes that arming the police encourages criminals to get bigger guns. And so on and so on.
Oh, I agree with much of what you say, and at one time I was fairly militant about wanting strict gun control. I’m not quite so militant anymore, but at the same time I do not see a need for stocking semi-automatics for home use.
Britain is a much smaller country. America is big, diverse and becoming increasingly polarized. I don’t think what works in Britain would work here.
Just to add something to think about from another forum.
UK banned handguns in 1997 – Overall crime kept rising until around 2006 with many more stabbings, and of the firearm crime/homicides that they have over 50% are with handguns which have been banned for 15 years…
Australia basically banned guns completely in 1996 – Firearm related crimes and homicides dropped slightly, but overall violent crime has risen dramatically every year since.
Despite not making any real changes in firearm policy, Canada and USA crime rates have been dropping for 2 decades, though homicide rates remain pretty consistent.
In Canada, while the gun registry was in effect, 7/10 gun crimes were committed with unregistered weapons. ww w.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-002-x/2008002/article/10518-eng.htm
The basic fact that laws are only obeyed by law abiding citizens. It’s already illegal to kill someone, but yet it happens.
Just because something is banned doesn’t mean that it’s impossible or even tough to get. Cocaine has been illegal for a very long time, but I bet I could get a hold of some in a few hours if I wanted to.
Examples of worse problems that don’t receive any attention:
Less than 200 people are murdered with firearms in Canada every year. Around 20-30 accidental deaths.
28 people have been killed in school shootings in Canada TOTAL since 1902. Just over 0.25 per year average.
1200-1500 people are killed as a result of drunk driving, yet there is rarely, if ever, a conversation about banning alcohol.
Diabetes contributes to over 40,000 deaths in Canada per year and is directly responsible for around 6000, but there isn’t a public outcry to ban all sugar or legally limit it.
Smoking contributes to over 37,000 deaths and almost 6,300 non-smokers die each year from exposure to second-hand smoke… Smoking is legal and over 18% of Canadians smoke! ww w.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.3483991/k.34A8/Statistics.htm
Finally, you keep bringing up blue on blue and I’m not sure why that applies to anything. If it is cop on cop then it is usually very poor training or responsibility with a gun. In all the competitions I’ve been in I’ve only met one Mountie. If you mean that shooting on the base in the south U.S., the shooter had mental issues and military policy dictates all bases are gun free zones with the exception of military police. Most other friendly fire incidents happen in a war zone because it can.
I agree, just because something is banned, doesn’t mean you can’t get it. However, deterrents can help, just as a locked door is a deterrent to robberies. Japan is a good example where gun control has made a difference. After World War II, Japan wasn’t allowed to have an army, gun laws were in place. Today, they have a homicide rate of .01 per 100,000 pop. and guns on average per 100,000 pop is .6 This stat. is from a small gun survey done of all the countries in the world by a university in 2007 ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/jul/22/gun-homicides-ownership-world-list )
In contrast, Australia’s homicide rate was .14, gun ownership, 15
Canada’s homicide rate was .51, gun ownership 30,8
England and Wales homicide rate was .07, gun ownership 6.2
USA homicide rate was 2.97, gun ownership 88.8
As for Australia’s supposed increase in crime rate after gun control laws were in place, there seems to be some dispute over that. Even the NRA has weighed in on it, and has been accused of twisting the facts. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Australia )
And yes, there are other deaths – by alcohol, diabetes, smoking, etc, which need to be addressed. There’s been a lot of headway dealing with the latter two. But those discussions only muddy the waters and keep gun control out of the picture. It’s another way to avoid addressing the violence that’s increased dramatically in the USA. And because 70% of our gun related crimes in Canada are due to purchase of firearms in the USA, we need to be also concerned.
As for my mentioning blue on blue incidents, I was quoting the police superintendent in Great Britain, who was commenting on TV after the shooting of two female police officers in Manchester in Sept. of this year. He said, there were less incidents of blue and blue since police stopped carrying firearms.
We could go back and forth with all kind of stats, but I think we both agree that the Americans need a change. Even to follow our model would make a huge change in regards to a safer society but the resistance down there is great.Plus it involves a change in mindset about guns, race and entitlement that a large portion of Americans don’t want to give up. It will only come with education in the schools and the fact the U.S.A. is not the best and greatest that there is. Its been great to chat with you.
As long as people are fearful without their guns, there will be no solution no matter what the government does, because there are too many gun nuts in this country, sadly, some of who will be denied at the Pearly gates as they plead with the gun in their cold hands.
You’re right. Fear is a huge factor, one that keeps too many Americans armed to the teeth.
Well said, Viktoria. The reaction to Obama’s recent executive orders regarding gun control fits right into that wild west scenario.