Connecticut Shooting Sparks Calls For New Gun Laws [VIDEO]

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has shocked and horrified the nation.  People are demanding answers and action.  In particular, calls for action regarding guns and gun laws.  Are we over-reacting?

To my knowledge 2 television shows ... so far ... related to firearms have been pulled off the air by their respective networks.

According to Dudley Brown of the National Association For Gun Rights (nationalgunrights.org), the President is calling for swift action on this to be in place by January that could include an "Assault Weapons" Ban, a  "High-Capacity" Magazine Ban, and a ban on ALL Private Firearms Sales without government permission.

The NRA went strangely silent although a press conference is being held by them tomorrow in Washington.

In light of all this, people are scrambling to buy weapons they fear will soon be unavailable.  Gun stores are selling out of stock. There is a growing concern that eventually all weapons will be banned.

All of this ... and more soon I'm sure ... over guns.  Will this help?  Are guns even the problem to begin with??

I don't think so.  Lighters don't cause arson, cars don't cause drunk driving ... How can guns cause crime?  If anything they reduce it and gun control laws certainly do not reduce crime.  

Sadly, the call keeps going out to ban guns.  The more "gun free" zones we create, the more we disarm ourselves, the more "soft targets" we create. A criminal won't pull anything at a shooting range, but he will at a mall or a day care center. There isn't anyone there to stop him.

The laws we have now concerning guns are just fine. They don't need to be changed and we don't need any more. We need to address the real problem(s).

1) Court systems that routinely release criminals with a slap on the wrist or early.  If someone screws up, sentence them appropriately and make them serve every last second of it. (Be even better if we could make jails less "comfy".  A cell, a toilet, and a window. 3 meals a day. That's a whole other blog though.)

2) Apathy.  Many people have seen signs that someone was "troubled", yet did nothing.  If you see someone isn't right, tell their folks, boss, priest ... tell a cop, contact a mental health facility .... do SOMETHING!  Many of those who have staged mass shootings exhibited plenty of warnings.  No one did anything.  Those that did were ignored.

3) Drugs.  The biggest problem of them all with regard to these mass shootings and I'm not talking about pot.  Not even heroin, coke or LSD.  Those may play a role but the greatest threat??  Prescription drugs. The vast majority of mass shooters in history
(going back as far as Charles Whitman in '69) have been on prescription medication meant to treat mental issues.

Years ago, most homes had guns, most kids were taught to use them and school/mall/theater shootings were pretty much unheard of. (The rate of individual  shootings was insanely less than today also.)  And, half the populace wasn't running around doped up.  Many drugs prescribed today are unneccesary and those that are neccessary are not closely monitored.  Timmy can't sleep? Here take this and that's it. No follow up, no re-examinations to make sure everything is ok and no one watching to be sure no misuse of the drug is taking place.  (How to get help in El Paso)

Still not convinced?  Here's a longer video from the citizens committee on human rights.  It may take awhile to watch, but I hope you will.  This is important and brings up a disturbing point.  Every year, more and more people begin taking anti-depressants, sleep aids, ritalin and many, many, many more.  Are these creating time bombs that walk among us?  Are some people truly crazy and/or evil?

Or are they being made that way in our quest to find a "pill for everything"??

Those who STILL think it's the guns fault and that they should be done away with, consider these last thoughts.

Gun free zones do nothing. They just tell the maniacs and demons in our society where they will find the easiest pickings.

Laws forbidding criminals from owning guns.  I like the idea, but criminals don't do things legally anyway. They will get them.  If you and I DO NOT have them, were  screwed.

Adding automatic extra jail time for committing crimes WITH a gun.  Nice idea, but if the criminal gave a crap about the law (or being arrested), he wouldn't be committing a crime in the first place.

Finally; look at Mexico ... an anti-gunners dream.  Their gun laws are so extreme there is only one gun shop in the whole country.  They are virtually unarmed. How's that working out for them?  Been to Juarez lately??  It's been shot to pieces by criminals and gangs that don't beg the government for permission to arm themselves.

Guns are used 2.5 MILLION times every year to deter or stop crimes.  A mall shooting in Portland, Oregon ended with the gunman taking his own life after being confronted by a shopper carrying a concealed handgun.  There are loads of stories of shootings being stopped by legally-armed citizens over the past few decades.  (If the teacher in Connecticut that confronted the killer directly had been armed, that story would have played out VERY differently.)

The "good guy with gun wins" stories aren't horrific enough to be reported on though I guess.  The mainstream media ignores them.

I hope this has educated everyone to some degree and, moreso, I hope it has encouraged the anti-gunners to reconsider.

One thing I do know; if those that wish for an unarmed society ever win ... we will ALL lose.