Let's Talk About Gun Violence

My stomach has been churning as I read some of the idiotic comments on Facebook in response to posts about yesterday's student-led march against ongoing gun violence.    

• Are people so obtuse that they actually believe that the student leaders of the march in Washington, D.C., are being paid to lead this growing movement? 
• Do the gun nuts really think that liberals are behind a plot to take their precious guns away? Nobody has ever suggested such a thing. 
• Why do certain politicians (for example Marco Rubio) denigrate these student leaders as nothing more than kids who have no business trying to influence legislation? Meanwhile, Rubio and other so-called 'leaders' happily allow themselves to be bought by the NRA.
• And let's not forget such an intellectual luminary as former senator Rick Santorum, who believes that rather than protesting the gun violence that makes students fearful to attend school, they would be better served by learning CPR. 
• Do these cretins really believe that because criminals are not deterred by gun laws, there is no point in strengthening laws that control access to guns? By that logic, we could argue that since certain people continue to drink and drive, there is no point in having laws that prohibit drunk driving. Or since some people commit murder or rape, why bother to outlaw those activities? According to this line of thinking, there is no point in having any laws because there will always be some people who break them.

Here are my thoughts about this debate:

• People do not need to own an AR-15 for hunting or for personal protection. Such weapons have only one purpose -- to kill many people in a very short amount of time.  
• The argument that guns don't kill people, people kill people, is old, tired and should be thrown onto the trash heap. 
• The same goes for the argument that cars, knives and bombs can be used to kill people. Knives and cars have purposes that aren't simply to kill large numbers of people. Cars, unlike guns, require a test to be allowed to operate one. Cars must be licensed and insured. Guns, not so much. The analogy between guns and cars is ridiculous. As for bombs, few people have the knowledge to make and set off a bomb.
• And stop trying to compare gun killings with abortions, which are legal in the United States and have NOTHING to do with slowing down the gun violence ravaging our country.
• When the US Constitution and its various amendments were written, the weapons available were musket loaders that fired a single shot. I doubt that the founding fathers ever envisioned a time when firearms that can shoot hundreds of round a minutes would be readily available.
• The Second Amendment does not guarantee anybody the right to own an AR-15 or any other kind of semi-automatic or automatic rifle. It states that people who are part of a "well regulated militia" (something the gun lovers conveniently ignore) have the right to bear arms. So let them buy a musket loader.
• We shouldn't be afraid to send our children to school, or to go to the movies or the shopping mall.
• There is no simple solution.to this problem. It will take changes in the laws combined with social and societal changes before we can get a handle on the gun violence issues. Mental health issues also need to be addressed. Sadly, people want to find a simple solution that fits into a neat little box. Sorry folks, it isn't that easy.

What really saddens me is that despite overwhelming public support for stricter gun laws (NOT taking away anybody's weapons), both Congress and the NRA are unwilling to support even the most common sense changes. It also saddens me that it is impossible to have a reasoned, rational discussion about gun violence in American. Our wonderful Congress even refuses to allow the Centers for Disease Control to pursue studies into the issue of gun violence. 

This isn't an all-or-nothing issue, folks. There is a middle ground. Many students have stepped up to lead the movement to address gun violence. We adults have failed to curb the violence, or even to take any meaningful action. Offering 'thoughts and prayers' is a waste of time. I hope the students -- many of whom will soon be able to vote -- will be able to do what adults have failed, or been unwilling, to do.