By Guest Columnist Michael Ceremello – March 1, 2018 –
I find it really interesting and almost confounding that liberals of all political persuasions continue to call for gun control every time there is a “mass” shooting. According to one source I found there is a mass shooting occurring nearly every day of the year in the US. The US is also the most violent supposedly because we have private ownership of more guns than any other country. Again, one has to sort out fact from fiction and understand that suicide by gun is included in many gun death toll statistics.
Gun control preceded governmental mass murders in many countries. China had it occur twice and the numbers were in the 10’s of millions. Russia was no different. The Jews in Germany were disarmed. All incontrovertible facts for any of you would be debate opponents.
Let’s see how removing your Second Amendment rights worked out under the less than right wing George the 1st Bush.
“The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was originally passed as section 1702 of the Crime Control Act of 1990.
It was first introduced in the U.S. Senate in February 1990 as S. 2070[1] by Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and then was incorporated into the Crime Control Act of 1990 that was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
The Supreme Court of the United States subsequently held that the Act was an unconstitutional exercise of Congressional authority under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution in United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995). Following the Lopez decision, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno proposed changes …These changes required that the firearm in question ‘has moved in or otherwise affects interstate commerce.’[3] As nearly all firearms have moved in interstate commerce at some point in their existence, critics assert this was merely a legislative tactic to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling.[2]” Wikipedia
During or since that time we had Columbine on April 20, 1995 and December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook, Newtown, Connecticut before this latest Florida episode. By the way, the law does not prevent guns on school campuses. It leaves it up to local jurisdictions and State agencies to allow or ban it. Interesting …
Leaving “it’s for the kids” for one moment, let’s see how the rest of the country is faring under the mind set of gun control. Aurora, Colorado July 20, 2012, Orlando, Florida June 12, 2016, and Las Vegas, Nevada October 1, 2017 all made the country sit up and notice. But let’s not forget the Muslim military murderer psychiatrist or the Muslims in San Bernardino. Schools are not the only targets but there is a broader reason for using that example to change the law: it is more emotionally based. Also note that the Colorado theater was a gun free zone as was the military base.
So how has gun control worked in cities with strict gun control laws?
3000 shot in Chicago October 2017 Chicago Tribune 650 killed (CNN)
Philadelphia, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore are all listed at the top of murder rates.
Compare that to Miami with 16 murders in 6 months Miami Herald. Miami, due to its drug trade, was one of the highest and now is one of the lowest with still declining numbers. Oddly, Washington, D.C. with very strict gun laws which were invalidated by the Supreme Court, also has relatively low numbers. I have not done the research at this point to find out why.
Remember September 11, 2001? Why haven’t there been any plane highjackings since? Could it be that pilots are now allowed to have guns in the cockpit behind a closed and locked cabin door? Or is it because there are a lot more air marshals with conceal and carry on each plane? This points to more guns not less to control violence.
I will give you my reason as to why the US has more gun violence. The US has a more affluent society and there is more to be gained in committing the crime. I am not going to use a gun in Africa to steal a goat. Aside from that, our society has changed from one of responsibility and family values to moral decay enhanced by Hollywood glorification of theft, depravity, and immorality. What happened to Father Knows Best? It has been supplanted by Hunter has two mommies and an educational community more concerned with keeping our kids obese and sedated than in learning.
I have spoken with local law enforcement, individuals who believe in open carry and concealed carry, and listened to callers to talk shows on this subject. Many believe that teachers, school administrators or other school staff should not be armed. A good point is that many of these people do not have the killer instinct necessary when a maniac arrives. Others think teachers and others should not multi-task. I have some problem with both of these.
Perhaps it will take a personal experience to “harden” those entrusted to protect our children or ourselves from the predators of society. This is what happened and is happening in Israel where we see young female teachers carrying rifles while supervising children on field trips.
Can I assure myself that the 20 to 25 year olds the city of Dixon are hiring as new police officers have a killer instinct any more than a teacher or custodian might acquire through thorough training? I have always believed in delegating authority after a person has been certified in expertise. Do you have to personally train these individuals or can we not trust others to provide this knowledge.
My preference would still be to hire individuals with military experience however the Obama military hating administration attempted to demonize these people as potential terrorists. I know a few hunters in Dixon who might also do some duty for their community in an attempt to protect us from the inevitable.
I have analyzed the problem from the perspective of history and the facts. Gun free zones are killing fields. Those interested in creating a name for themselves or taking something which they have no right to take, another person’s life, come in two categories.
We have the disgruntled ex-student, student who has been bullied, copy cats, or terrorists who don’t belong on the premises but come in from the outside. Metal detectors and school resource officers will not stop these people. Even with many guns on a campus, the sad reality is the individual may kill a few students before being stopped. With no guns on campus, we already know the casualty level will be much higher.
The second group is the student who brings a gun in his backpack. This person could be stopped by a metal detector. The question is who would staff such a machine or machines. Who staffs them at airports? Is the job that technical once the sensitivity of the machine is set that even a student could man it? It wouldn’t even be necessary to have an armed individual on the machine but close enough by to react once metal is detected.
I have been against the police department putting in a “school resource officer” because I recognize a much more significant danger than gang violence, bullying, or fights whether they be a brawl or just one on one. However, as it was explained to me during my educational process on this subject, the officer is not there to stop an outside shooter.
First off, the resource officer would be shared among schools and would not necessarily be at the specific school under siege. Second, the Florida school had a resource officer present. Third, an individual known officer would be the first target a motivated shooter would take out. Finally, he or she would have additional responsibilities through social interaction with the student body far beyond confronting armed shooters.
I see some benefit to creating the position but more on the basis of being a role model than a junior psychologist. Maybe being both isn’t such a bad combination. But this is not the prevention I want to see embraced.
The hypocrisy of changing the legal age to 21 to purchase an AR-15 is obvious. We allow individuals to join the Armed Forces to be trained to use weapons much more lethal while putting their own lives in jeopardy at the age of 18. Age is no indication of maturity or responsibility as young adults brought 22’s to school or were part of a “rifle team” in high schools for years.
Gun control does not stop the crazy person from stealing a gun. Laws only restrict those who obey them and those would be responsible gun owners. You only have to ask yourself have any of these laws stopped any of these events? We wouldn’t be talking about it if they had.
Perhaps it is my youthful past watching cowboys in white hats defeating the black hatted villains … the good versus evil morality plays of the past. Years later I dreamt that the day would come when the holstered pistol would come back out of necessity. As with many of my premonitions, predictions, and postulations, I once again seem to be way ahead of the curve.
The solution lies within all of us. How much more of this nonsense do we take before we take action? It is time to arm up, “throw open your window and yell ‘I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it any more’ ”. While that is a line from an old movie it is rather appropriate.
This is Kalifornia, one of the strictest gun control States in the Union. Do you wonder why an episode hasn’t occurred here yet? Could it be true that the conspiracy theory that says these happenings are occurring where there is little gun control is being orchestrated by those who would confiscate our weapons and eliminate the Second Amendment? Do you want to take the chance that we are safe because of this?
“Be prepared” is more than a Boy Scout motto to me …
