I just have to put my 2 cents down on this subject.

The incident in Connecticut was horrific to say the least.  The worst kind of thing to happen in a grade school in American history.  I came to tears as I read and continue to read the stories and watch the videos being published.  Truly an extremely sad and awful thing to have had happen.  I offer my deepest sympathy to the people involved in every way possible, from the victims, their families, the close friends, the surviving teachers and others in the school at the time, the dispatchers and emergency personnel… the list goes on and on and on.

Closer to home Sherry works for Smith and Edwards, a local all purpose type of store catering mostly to outdoors things.  One of the long time employees of that store had his Granddaughter killed in that awful event and she will be buried this weekend here in Ogden.  When it gets that close it is even more heart wrenching.

BUT…..

The healing process will take a long, long time for those very close to the incident and we have to be sympathetic to them and help where ever we can.  For most of us we are too far removed to be of much help in that regard.  So the best we can do is be vigilant in our effort to be the eyes and ears to try and stop another tragic event such as this one.  AND trying to stop such an occurrence from happening does NOT include increasing gun control laws, banning gun sales, at any level, or destroying the weapons we currently have in our personal possession.

We have upper level government officials trying to put a stop on the sale of certain gun types…this is WRONG!  Just because that type of weapon was used in this attack does not mean the rifle type was the problem.  The problem was the man behind it.  He could have easily been using a knife and done the same damage.  Do we ban all knives?

This man stole the guns and ammo he used.  He killed his own mother before he went to that school.  He broke into the school to do it, the door was not unlocked for him to enter.  He was a sick man!  Beyond help in my opinion.  Why he did what he did will never be known.  But, again in my opinion, he had mentally decided he needed to do something that would put his name up in lights.  Something that had never been done in his entire life.  To shoot himself in his own basement was not how he wanted to be known.  He needed to do something bigger and badder than the last big bad deal.  And unfortunately he succeeded.

It is now in our hands to stop the ridiculous thinking by our government leaders that is tending them to initiate laws banning the manufacture, sale and/or distribution of certain gun types and the ammunition needed to make them operate.  It is our job to let our media people know that they too are part of the problem.  If the newspapers and news casters would change the way they report this type of tragedy, the next person thinking along those lines would not try and one-up the event that just took place.  It is our job to let the people opting to drop the gun and ammunition sales in their classifieds ads know that we are a people who know how to control ourselves and our choice of what we want to purchase and use.

Right now the anti gun people really think they have all the aces in the game.  They are playing up the crying and the horror of the event that just took place.  They are letting their political power guys know that they helped get them there and they will use that against them should they not push the issue of stronger gun legislation or the banning of certain rifle types.

Along with that, we, ourselves are falling into the trap of  “guns will be banned, ammunition manufacturers will be bought by anti gun people and not be made anymore” and so we are hitting the gun sales stores by the thousands, paying prices never before heard of for these guns, stripping the shelves of the ammunition even if we don’t have a gun that will shoot it.  We are standing in line at the pawn shops hoping that when we finally do get to the counter there will be a gun left for us to buy.  And here again we will pay an exorbitant price and not even know if it will fire a shell or not.

We need to stop…right here…right now!  Take a deep breath, evaluate the situation and get on with our lives.  The kids going to school need to think more about learning the lessons being taught and not about carrying in a gun to protect themselves and their buddies.  Or worse yet, staying away from school because they think a situation like the last one will happen in their school.

Also, in all fairness to the kids and families in Newtown Connecticut, put back up your Christmas lights and get the tree back out and decorate it.  Christmas is a time meant as a “new beginning”.  Say an extra prayer and get back to your lives.

Bears Butt

Dec. 19, 2012