Imagine explaining to your 12 year old grandson why all the schools are closed because someone has made a “credible threat” to shoot children at school…that she came to Colorado to kill our children. If ever I prayed for wisdom it was that moment….The good thing about adolescents is that they don’t stick to one topic very long because they have to get back to the things that concern them. That is normally frustrating but I was thankful for it yesterday…the ability to just drop it and go play basketball.
Why does someone want to kill children…or anyone? What was the “credible threat” that shut down at least 9 major school districts around the state? Sometimes it’s hard to understand what is happening in our country. I know that the debate about guns in this country is a very divisive issue and people are passionate about gun ownership.
So here’s the thing…I know there is a constitutional right to “bare arms” and I don’t really have an issue with that. My issue is more with what the framers of the constitution envisioned when they created that right. I do not think they could imagine the weapons we have now…automatic and semi-automatic rifles that can kill hundreds of people in seconds…These guns were never on their radar.
Muskets were the guns of the their time…if we all want guns, let’s have muskets. That way you have to stop and pour the gunpowder in the gun and tamp it down, shoot and then start over to shoot again. That seems like a fair and responsible approach to weapons. Not only would it become impossible to shoot vast numbers of people in seconds but it would also create a pause…a moment to think before acting.
With automatic weapons a person can act impulsively…you piss me off and I shoot you, and possibly many others. If I have to stop and pour the gunpowder and get my musket ready…I have a moment to think about what I am doing…do I really want to shoot the person or am I just angry or frustrated and I need to relax and breathe…maybe come up with a different reaction? Maybe a re-action…a new and different action.
We live in a world where shootings have become the norm of what we see on the nightly news. It happens so often that we become numb to it…just another day…just another shooting. I am outraged by the shootings. Outraged that my grandchildren need to worry, or even consider, being shot in school. The adults in this country need to speak up and force our leaders to do something…please do something.
Kai Raines 