Disappointed

This picture is part of a series I took of my son playing along the shore of the Mediterranean last spring. I love it because he was blissfully unaware of me photographing him, and it captures him simply enjoying a moment in time. I am glad that he has a sense of innocence and is generally unaware of the serious issues that we adults face. I see that the assault weapons ban has essentially bitten the dust so to speak. We no longer have a government that is for the people and by the people, what we now have is a government for special interest groups and by special interest groups (NRA). I am sad that my son and every other child in this country is not safe at school, on the playground or simply walking down the street. Their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is secondary to the right of selfish individuals who demand ownership of military assault type weapons and who refuse any sort of dialogue on gun control. I want to be crystal clear on this I believe and support the 2nd Amendment however, I do believe that we need to control what types of weapons a person can own and the size of the magazines that are sold. Many of my family members own guns, and have made it clear that they would be more than willing to live with a ban on certain types of weapons, if it would make our society safer. I think a great first step would be an extensive background check system that links date on such things as mental health records, history of substance abuse, domestic violence and criminal background. Even if we could accomplish that piece then maybe some lives would be saved. Perhaps we need to look at people renewing their gun license after a period of time as they do in some countries. Finally, a huge piece of this is our failings as a society to deal with mental health issues. We need to look at how we treat people and how to address their ongoing care. I know I am repeating what many have said since Newtown, but it needs to be said over and over until we can reach some sort of compromise. I would hate for those 20 children to have died for nothing, and worse yet, to witness another incident where children die at the hands of someone who should never had access to guns.