I don't have the answers... as most Americans do not.
But I do have opinions.... as most of us do.
It's quite a conundrum. One school district wants to arm their teachers, allowing them the ability to bring weapons into the workplace.
Stage right - domestic violence in the workplace.
Utah wants to outfit every citizen of the state with a home weapon.
Sounds doable, since only like 25 people live in the state of Utah. (just kidding, fellow Utahans?)
I purchased a gun for hubs for Christmas this year. We have two guns in our home already (a 410 and and 22 given to him by his Gpa / Dad) but not what he wanted to begin bird hunting. He has been working diligently the past two years in collecting the items he needs, training himself on his bow and now, owning a gun to prepare for his new found hobby.
It was honestly one of the eeriest feelings I have ever had. I stood at the counter, told him what I wanted, handed him my license, filled out one piece of paper, waiting on a 5 second phone call and 20 minutes later, walked out with a weapon.
Yep, it was that easy.
Sure, I have no criminal record. Yes, I have no felonies (believe it!). But I could have walked out of that store and handed that gun to anyone on the face of the planet, no questions asked. That easy.
Or hip checked on the way to my car and the gun taken.
Or carjacked at the first stoplight and the gun taken.
Anyway you want to look at it, it wouldn't have been that hard for that gun to get into some one's hands... if they really wanted it.
And that takes me to my point. Until such a time that we teach our youth the differences between right and wrong, morals and values of life and the realities of death, we will continue to encounter such travesties in our future. Adam Lanza was once a little boy. He played with matchcars, legos and rode his bike, most likely. He had someone, anyone, who hugged him and told him that they loved him. Somewhere along the way, he fell from understanding the difference between right and wrong. He lost his ability to decipher long term ramifications of his actions. And he snapped.
I don't know who's fault it is. Maybe it was his mother. Maybe it was his school counselors. Maybe it was the mental health system. Maybe he was just selfish.
But I can tell you who's fault it isn't - the gun manufacturers. They made a weapon, folks. A legal one. We don't have to all like it, by any means. We certainly don't have to own them. But we have the RIGHT given to us by the United States Constitution and our forefathers to protect ourselves from our government and tyranny. And like it or not, that document governs our great nation.
We can all speculate how irresponsible it was for this mother to own these guns, allow her son who obviously had problems access to them and ultimately pay the price for such action. But what we can't deny is this: she had a legal right to buy them and own them. She obviously did not properly store them or protect others from harm. Of course, she couldn't have seen that coming. No mother ever could, regardless of how unstable their teenage kids become.
I'm not totally comfortable about having this gun in my house. It makes me a bit nervous. I've told little guy that I will beat him within an inch of his existence (or maybe even take him out entirely) if he ever even so much as looks at that weapon. Of course it's put away. It's not loaded. And it won't be - not in this house.
But don't think for one second that if someone barges in my house the first noise they will hear will be me, pumping that 12 gauge back. Not the sound you wanna hear. And I will go batshit crazy to protect my family, as would hubs. Because it's my right.
Sound off. I'm sure there will be many opinions. I've held off not certain how I wanted to express my thoughts.
But I will leave you with this: my heart mourns. It mourns for the children. For the brave teachers. For the brave principal. For Adam's mother. And yes, even for Adam. And I pray that God can place calm healing in every one's hearts and souls impacted by this event, and for those lawmakers now challenged with the question of what next?
Have a great Wednesday friends - half way through!
Jen
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