So, we have entered the mean season. It is one month ago today that the Sandy Hook shooting happened, and we are starting to see some of the parents of the victims begin to speak out about gun control and to organize. I am not expert on grief and thankfully have not had to grieve the loss of a child, but some people have said that grief begins to turn to anger and this is where some of these parents are at now. I call this the mean season as I had read an article in which Veronique Pozner, mother of Noah Pozner, had questioned why the White House had not reached out to the parents of the sandy Hook victims for their input. Nor has the White House kept these families in the loop as far as what action items they were considering. At the end of the article people could leave comments and I saw quite a few mean spirited and downright nasty comments aimed at Ms. Pozner. People wanted to know what right she had to be kept apprised of what the White House was doing and so on.
I am disgusted that we can no longer have any type of dialogue in the this country without it dissolving into name calling and nastiness. What ever happened to "agree to disagree?" This woman lost her son in a horrible way, and has been very vocal as to what condition his body was in so that people can have an idea of what a semi automatic gun can do to a little body. To all those who say she has no right I will say to you that I hope you never have to identify your 6 year old child and see him or her with half of their face missing and their body riddled with bullet holes. Unfortunately this woman and all of the other parents who lost children that day have earned to right to say whatever they need to and we need to listen. For those of you who feel that it is more important to own semiautomatic weapons and high output magazines you too are entitled to your opinion. I am asking that we all stop and remember that it's OK to have an opinion, but it's not OK to name call and belittle those who hold different views than ours. This nastiness has permeated politics and public discourse as of late and it's time we stop, think about what we saying and quite frankly, be kind. I am heartbroken over Sandy Hook, and can not imagine the crushing grief that these families must be experiencing so, please be kind, listen to people and do not make snide or nasty comments just because you do not agree with some one's opinion. Let's end the mean season.
Thanks for reading my poem :) I too can see the anger and mean spirited remarks across the board, and it is sometimes frustrating. Here's my take on the whole thing, and I do try to be as civil and logical as I can possibly be.
ReplyDeleteI am a supporter of the Second Amendment, to an extent. Now you've seen how devastated I've been inside as a result of Sandy Hook; many of us who support gun rights often are labeled as heartless and selfish, thinking only of our guns. I think it's very wrong to assume such things. I don't even personally own a gun or fire them very much (my father does and has a concealed permit as well) but I believe the Constitution and its Amendments were put there for a reason. We as a country were founded as a result of an armed population and are remaining so as a means to protect ourselves from personal harm as well as being able to rise against the tyranny of the government, should that issue arise. I do not want to give over control of very much to the government; I do not trust them and many are selfish, thinking about their own personal political agendas. Allowing the government (as corrupt as they are, both parties) to override the Constitution or amend it at this time is a grave mistake.
Now, I do agree that America in general has gotten ridiculously "gun happy;" but there are more guns than people now so attempting to ban them entirely will be pitifully futile. There will be certain states and officials that will outright refuse to ban guns (due to the outright violation of the Second Amendment), and many will keep and hide their guns or refuse to register them at all. In fact, gun sales spike whenever there's talk of a possible ban, as in the case of Sandy Hook. Despite my belief that we should be able to carry firearms, I do think that guns shouldn't be seen as a "right" as much as a "privilege." This is where I deviate from the strict definition of the Second Amendment's "rights" to bear arms. Too many people are able to easily get guns and get no training whatsoever on how to use them. This is where I agree with the universal background check. I believe a full background check should be required (and possibly even those who are staying at your residence), proper firearms training should be instituted, and guns should be required to be safely kept away from children when in the home.
(continued) The argument that doesn't resonate with me that well or even make any sense to me is the assault weapons ban. First of all, the Second Amendment doesn't specify the type of firearm whatsoever, yet it is somewhat vague so that leaves of things to be debated upon. What is an "assault weapon" anyway? It's a rather vague term in itself, but to me it means anything that looks like a military weapon, a.k.a. any semi-automatic weapon that cosmetically resembles fully automatic military weapons. Others may have other definitions for it, but this is how I'm defining it based on the news and debates. What I do know is that the term "assault weapon" (semi-automatic weapon that looks like a military style weapon through cosmetics) should not be confused with "assault rifle" (an intermediate power combat rifle with select fire, being able to fire fully automatic or semi-automatic). This is something politicians try to trip everyone up on, likely on purpose. My question is, why single out assault weapons such as the AR-15? There are higher caliber weapons on the market that aren't assault weapons, and are legal. Look at most other mass shootings; they were committed with semi-automatic handguns or shotguns, usually. A killer wouldn't need a cosmetically decked out semi-automatic rifle to deal a whole ton of damage. Take a Glock, for example. Many clips that are sold for this weapon hold 15 rounds. Clips that take mere seconds to switch out. The shooter at Sandy Hook could have gone in with this weapon, and, sad to say, have caused nearly as much damage if he had sufficient ammo on hand. The shooter reportedly didn't even bother to empty clips on his AR-15 before switching them out. Besides, assault weapons deaths in the U.S. is extremely low when compared to death by handguns or shotguns. There was even a ban before on assault weapons, under Clinton, restricting things such as adjustable stocks and fire suppressors. Both of which do not add to the power and killing ability of the gun. Yet with the ban, and without it, deaths from these types of weapons have remained relatively low. So banning these guns would have saved the lives of these 20 children and 6 adults? I think not. Also, as I've said before in a way, banning any sort of gun will not deter evil that is determined. If someone is determined to try, it is certainly possible to attain a multitude of deadly weapons, even if they are illegal, since guns are so widespread in our country. Since when do criminals decide to follow laws, especially gun bans, anyway? That one man who shot and killed two firefighters on Christmas Eve was a felon and shouldn't have had ANY weapons anywhere near him at all. But lo and behold he found a way to get his hands on a rifle, shotgun, and handgun. Not a surprise there.
DeleteNow let me clear something up. I care most for our children's safety. If I thought banning guns were the way to do it, sure, to hell with guns. But I simply don't see it doing much to attain this goal. When, someday, God willing, I have my own family to take care of, I would like to be able to protect them, by deadly force if necessary. Instead, I see the solution in community police (that are heavily involved IN the community and not just the "po-po"), physical school security (panic buttons, bulletproof glass, doors, locks, etc.), and more mental health awareness, where erratic and dangerous behavior is more closely monitored. Now these are the things that Veronique Pozner has been encouraging, and I fully agree with them. I like that the memo the family sent to the White House focuses on these things rather than the ugly gun debate that is going on. I would like to expound on those details more, but I will leave that to another time. What are your thoughts?
I agree with you that the memo the Pozner family sent to the White House offered some solid suggestions. I will be up front with you, I do not like guns, but I respect the 2nd Amendment and would not waste my time trying to ban guns outright. The gun issue is new to me as I just moved back to the US 4 years ago and prior to that lived in Canada and Finland. I do think that we have to take a hard look at mental health, policing and also guns. My father is retired Army and he loves to collect guns and target shoots weekly however, he has also said that as a nation we have to look at some form of gun control as well. Like I said, I am new to this and always welcome opinions. I should also say that I have had two occasions where I was threatened with a gun. As for the Newtown tragedy I don't even know what to say. I have read all of MC's posts and my heart is broken for her family, and for the others. My son looked a lot like Noah when he was six. This event has made me nervous about sending my kids to school, and I never worried about that in the past. I wanted to make the point in my post that I wish people could have discussions about things (guns, politics religion or whatever) without getting nasty and mean when people don't agree. I think that if we actually listened to each other more we can learn from each other and perhaps come to agreement on things. I guess that's wishful thinking given today's political climate. Like I said, I do not like guns, but respect the 2nd Amendment, but feel that we have to something. I agree with you that someone with evil in their heart will find a way to get a gun. I wish that as a nation we could have some sort of constructive dialogue about how to deal with this issue. It's unfortunate that politicians from both parties are so set in their views that nothing seems to get done. As I said I lived in Canada and I know that Canadian laws require a strict background check that includes mental health, addiction issues, domestic violence and of course criminal past. They also require a 3rd party character reference along with an interview with the applicants spouse, domestic partner or next of kin. And, they must renew every 5 years. Canada has a ban on all semi automatic and automatic guns. People can buy and sell firearms privately, but the buyer does have to pass a background check. Canada is not perfect and gun deaths happen, but I do think we could do much better here. Anyhow, I really liked your poem even though it made me cry.
DeleteI appreciate your understanding of gun issues in our country despite living in Canada. There are a lot of people in different countries that can't even comprehend the reasons for the Second Amendment.
DeleteI can't fathom how difficult it is for you to struggle with this issue as you have a son that resembles Noah. I really hope we can handle this issue of gun control and, well, safety in general, so it can give you and every other parent the peace of mind as you send them off on the school bus.
Once again I appreciate you reading my poem. My eyes tear up when reading it sometimes too, even though I wrote it. What makes it so real is that many quotes and details are from the children of Sandy Hook, especially from Noah. For example, Noah used to sneak out of bed and go hug his mom without his shirt on so he could "feel her heartbeat better." The whole "Mommy I love you more" line comes from Noah also, who used to say "Not as much as I love you." The nightmare described in the poem comes from Noah's mom. There are things from other children in there too.
Thank you for your well though out responses! The poem you wrote was hard to read for the obvious reasons, but the part about Noah giving his Mom a hug without his PJ top on so he could feel her heart just brings me to tears. I too hope that we can come up with some sort of common sense ways to change how we as a nation deal with guns, mental health etc. I was out with my sister last night and although she does not own any guns right now she does enjoy target shooting. She was talking about how this is such a huge issue and that it's not just about the guns. Her take on it stems from what she sees as a lack of empathy. Not that she does not see the need for some gun legislation, but the bigger picture is that as parents she thinks many have not put the time in with their children and in our busy lives we have raised a generation of kids that lack any sort of empathy. I found that interesting. I should mention that she is an elementary school teacher. As I said it is good to be able to gather different ideas and opinions as this is a huge issue and not one that will be easily solved. As for the Sandy Hook tragedy, I have been reading MC's blog, and found her words and insight so amazing. I will miss reading about Noah, but understand that she needs to look after herself and her family. I hope that in the future people like you and I do not need to blog about anymore school shootings. However, I'm not sure what the future holds. Thank you again for your responses as it is always nice to hear from people who are intelligent and articulate!
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