Control guns or reduce gun violence?

01/18/13 Peg Board

The first rule of “Get 'ER Done” is to to define what “ 'ER ” is. What are you to accomplish? And what will it look like if you are successful? In other words, how will you know if/when you are successful? Oddly enough, politicians often tell folks exactly what they are trying to achieve even when they are trying to cover it up. For example, an important topic right now is the murder of multiple children in a school setting. But this is not what our politicians SAY that they are trying to control. What they are trying to control is the ownership of guns by private citizens. They imply that such control will reduce the risk to school children even though NONE of the current commendations will have that effect. What is truly shameful is that the overwhelming evidence (scientific studies and testimony before Congress) has resided in Congressional archives for decades. In other words, the tools for reducing violence against children both exists and is/has been available to and ignored by the federal congress. Every sitting Representative or Senator who has held the seat for more than two years is as responsible (through inaction) for the violence and death as the doers are.

I know that sounds harsh, but the ER we are trying to get done is reducing gun (any) violence against children, especially in schools (groups). As trite as it sounds, the research clearly shows that the problem is not guns (bats, hammers, etc.) but the people who handle them and their attitudes about hurting others. The conclusion is that the entertainment industry (movies, video games, etc) under common circumstances produces an effect which desensitizes the participants to human pain and discomfort. Rather than address the issue our “Representatives” would rather sink their snouts deep into the entertainment industry's money trough. There may be other explanations but it seems to me that these people are either crooked, or incompetent. In any event they are certainly NOT doing what they were elected to do.

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Remember the “ 'ER ” in GET 'ER DONE is the reducing of gun (any) violence against children, especially in schools (groups). So what do the folks that you and I chose to represent us recommend?

VAPOR LEGISLATION

Universal background check: So what is this supposed to do? There are already millions of unregistered guns available. Any one who wants to create mayhem can pick up the guns and other means through irregular outlets any time they put their mind to it. This is vapor legislation. When you really look at it, there is nothing of substance there.

A person who is mentally unstable should not have access to guns. But what does “Mentally Unstable” in this context mean? How crazy do you have to be before you start losing your constitutional rights? Do our “Representatives” address this? No. Lazy Cowards. Have our “Representatives” created a national register of people who have been adjudicated mentally incompetent? NO. Lazy Cowards.

Reduced capacity ammunition clips for semi-automatic weapons. What is this supposed to accomplish? Properly prepared and practiced almost anyone can change a clip of ammunition in less than 1 second. It would take the average person more than a second to realize that the clip is being replaced. And in a so called gun free zone, if the only armed person is the doer, what can be done in a second any way?

This is all non-sense. A political circus to entertain the masses (that's us). Nothing happens, children and others keep getting hurt and killed, but we keep re-electing the same lazy, cowardly, and greedy politicians. Doom on us. Our “Representatives” think so little of us that now some are proposing a re-institution of the “assault gun ban”. Previously this legislation failed so badly for ten years it was finally abandoned. Now they want to fool us again with the same failed legislation. How foolish are we really?

WHAT WILL WORK?

Right Now:

Remember the goal is the reducing of gun (any) violence against children, especially in schools (groups).

I've spent years working in public school systems. Every school district has many non-productive administrative or non-teaching positions. Many of these could be re-purposed to trained armed security personnel at no additional cost to the tax payers. Mr. La-Pierre is correct, the best defense against a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. We are not talking about Uniformed and helmeted Security Personnel with full utility belts in every classroom. One or two plainclothes SP, armed, trained, and with proper communications, roaming randomly in each building should Get 'er done. This level of security can be in place by the opening of school in the Fall of 2013 (that's right, THIS YEAR). NOTE: SECURING YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL DOES NOT TAKE FEDERAL LEGISLATION OR MONEY. YOU CAN DO IT LOCALLY. SECURING THE SAFETY OF YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL PROBABLY DOES NOT TAKE ANY STATE LEGISLATION OR MONEY, YOU CAN DO IT LOCALLY. My suggestion, stop whining, form community action groups, and Get 'er Done.

Medium Term:

Federal – revision of the entertainment industry's rating system. This is going to take some work and needs to be consistent nationally. We know that desensitizing children and adults to the suffering of others creates an environment supportive of interpersonal violence. Therefore any form of activity (entertainment or otherwise) which does so should be strictly limited to adult participation. The greedy moguls who care nothing for our children or our country will argue that this is a First Amendment issue, but it is not. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires that children be allowed to be taught/encouraged to be vicious killers than that they should be taught/encouraged to be bloody insurrectionists.

We should explore the possibility of making parents who expose their children to adult rated materials and who commit crimes related to those materials civilly responsible for damages. If the crime results in permanent physical or mental damage or death the parent (s) may be charged as accessories.

Long Term:

National - The goal is the reduction of gun (any) violence against children, especially in schools (groups).

To replace a negative and make it permanent requires a positive replacement. We need a national alliance to promote personal integrity, loyalty to family and community, respect for self and others, personal responsibility for one's behaviors, courage in committing to a code of ethics, and emphasis on nonviolent solutions and outcomes. And an understanding of the impact of violence on both participants. Although such an alliance does not require Federal funding, a National Commission that is very supportive of the allliance would be very helpful.