First let me say that no one in their right mind feels anything but horror and sadness at the terrible tragedies when a sick individual commits multiple shootings. Our hearts go out to the victims and families of such evil.
Putting a sign up saying this school is a gun free zone is not an answer. Using emotional theater by parading the victims and their families crying for strict gun control is also not an answer.
Years ago many schools had shooting ranges. It was not uncommon to see children walking in the halls of many schools with their rifles to get to the rifle club practice — yet there were no mass shootings.
The media talking heads will denigrate the Second Amendment in this debate. In truth the Second Amendment does not give us the right to own firearms; it affirms that we have a right to have arms and explicitly stops the government from infringing on our owning firearms.
United States v. Cruikshank (1875), the Court ruled that “[t]he right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second Amendment means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress, and has no other effect than to restrict the powers of the National Government.
How do we as a nation keep our children safe while not giving up the Right to Keep and Bear Arms? There are many suggestions. They span everything from banning guns to armed guards and allowing teachers to legally carry their handgun. At GOANY we do not favor any type of gun ban or restriction. Looking at other countries that have strict gun control we see mass shootings happening. Just remember the shootings in France. Not only fully automatic rifles but grenades were used.
The 10 ton elephant in the room is that no amount of gun control will stop bad people from getting their hands on guns, explosives, knives and other things they can use to kill. A gallon of gas can fuel your car for 20 or 30 miles of driving or used to burn down a house. It is not the object but the person and their intent.
