So I've seen a lot of people posting things on the Facebook machine about the recent shootings. I have too much to say about what I think and how I feel for a mere status post. So once again, I'll put off writing the three posts I have saved and waiting for completion to write this one.
First off, I would like to address the "it's to soon, we need to grieve before we make a political statement about this." Are you kidding me?!?! One of these shootings happened less than two miles from me!!!! HELL NO I AIN'T WAITING AGAIN!!! Suck it up whiny face! YOU didn't have anyone die, YOU don't have anything to grieve (except maybe your broken society, and yes, there's a lot to be grieving for there) YOU need to part of this conversation and hopefully a solution. We need to deal with it NOW when the pain is fresh, waiting only lets us forget. Again, and again and again and again (and again, and again, and again, and again, remember you only hear about this when it's in sleepy white suburbs, it happens DAILY in urban schools. I've been around hostile fire more as a teacher than I ever have or will as a Soldier in the U.S. Army).
How many more people need to die before you are ready to face this problem?
Two: What exactly is "Gun Control?" And why is that a problem? I have the unique perspective of being in the Army and of being responsible for weapons from time to time. The Army has EXTREME forms of control in Garrison (that means not at war or training in the field). It would be silly for me to tell them to you and put myself at risk, but you can easily find the Army Physical Security Regulations and see what they do to control their armaments. Why is it a problem to expect civilians to do the same? It simply means controlling your weapons. Maintain positive control of your weapon at ALL TIMES. The recent shooting down the street from me, the kid stole the AR-15 from a friend who did not take that seriously and 3 people are dead because of it. How is it infringing on your rights to expect you to get control of the instruments of death that you feel the need to hoard? The Zombie apocalypse is a joke if you didn't know.
Third: I often hear this "if more people are armed, maybe this stuff wouldn't happen, we don't need less weapons we need MORE." This is called escalation of force. We went through this once, it was called the Cold War. Thank Bob we didn't actually have anything happen!! But really, it's a ridiculous and idiotic stance. First off, 98% of people who are packing a concealed weapon are gonna' piss their pants when a gunfight breaks out in a bank (read this: http://www.amandaripley.com/book). Second of all, their most likely not going to make the right decisions and their going to shoot someone innocent (don't believe me? It's called friendly fire and/or collateral damage, it happens all the time, but the military doesn't advertise that...) instead of the hostile person doing the shooting. Third, these shootings are happening mostly in schools. Students are not allowed to carry firearms in schools. DUH. I've actually heard people suggest teachers start carrying. I was a teacher once. That's the LAST thing that we should do. The single most asinine suggestion I've heard as a solution to school shootings. That won't make anyone feel safe. Ever.
Ultimately, saying "I have more guns than you, and mine are bigger" will not solve the problem. I wish we were able to grade on social skills in primary grades because you silly people suggesting more weapons as a solution would have (and should have anyway) failed kindergarten! That doesn't solve any problems dumbass! That makes a stupid problem bigger!! Most gang fight shoot outs involving 14-16 year old's involve "he said she said" situations. If I may be a sarcastic jerk for a second... TOTALLY worth dying a painful death from a sucking chest wound. TOTALLY.
Fourth: Many of the "Gun Enthusiasts" who get all up in arms (pun VERY intended) about Gun Control have no reason except their enthusiasm for having these weapons. No you don't need a semi automatic rifle for home protection. In close quarters (like a home invasion) you want a pistol anyway. Rifles are for hunting (or sniping, like the Washington DC shooter a few years ago... Remember that? Again, your concealed weapon is friggin' useless against that). Gun control is about controlling something that is intended to cause death. Why are you fighting against that? Gun Control does not mean you're not going to get your hobby of collecting instruments of death, you sicko, it means that someone is keeping track of the weapons. Not YOU for my conspiracy theorist friends, the weapons. Like you say, guns don't kill people, but if you hang your Barret Sniper rifle above your mantle because it's cool and the emo kid who's been bullied since he was 8 sees it sitting out there in the open.... You don't have positive control of your weapon do you?
Fifth: I alluded to this in the previous paragraph, but some have said "we need to have people better trained." The kid who shot up the mall down the street here in Oregon only killed two people because his rifle jammed and he didn't know how to clear it. Me and the former Marine who was carpooling with me that day made some morbid jokes about anyone with any military training would "SPORTS" that bad boy and "charlie mike" (means "CM," or "continue mission"). Don't know what I mean by SPORTS? Good! The DC shooter a few years back had training. Your concealed weapon that you think is going to keep you safe would be useless against anyone with any modicum of training and an M16 (or AR-15, or ANY rifle for that matter). I know that if I went off the deep end and was going to do a public suicide like that, I wouldn't charge into a place and start flailing around like an idiot. But then again, I'm mentally sound and while my childhood was tumultuous, I had support that gave me opportunities to move past it.
And there it is... The solution. I had support to get past whatever preteen drama I had to live through. While I "mindbarfed" this little blog post learned that I do support gun control, (no I didn't know that for sure before I started writing!) and conservatives are right that the issue is that the problem is NOT the weapons, it's the people. With that said, I had to get a "Secret" security clearance to do what I do. It was quite the process. Why is it problem to expect that it be more difficult and more rigorous of a process for a civilian to get bigger and faster guns that they don't need and want because it's "cool?" Ultimately, guns were not meant to be a hobby and your "right" doesn't guarantee your gun collecting hobby, it guarantees that you don't have to listen to a foreign invader or a rogue Government (hmm... rogue... where've I heard that before...?). Guns are for killing. The real problem is that these people that do this are not cared for. The solution is in recognizing they have a sickness that our society does not recognize, accept, or treat. In the end, to stop this we need to fix the human part of it, gun control laws are really only a "duct tape and baling wire" fix to a bigger problem of mental health issues that we are stubbornly refusing to acknowledge again and again and again and again. Ignoring the problem won't ever make it go away. Ever.
How many more times does this need to happen?
