I asked this question on my Facebook earlier today to get a feel for what others think. Of course I expected the gun law enthusiasts to speak up – regardless of what side they support.
Here's what I think –
Guns
Yes, I believe we need gun laws. When the Constitution was written, they were thinking about single shot muzzle loaders – not guns that are capable of shooting a gazillion rounds in 30 seconds. There is NO need for those kinds of guns. The right to protect ourselves can be accomplished with weapons that are intended for domestic use. Frankly, those assault rifles should not even be made available to the public. Why would a hobby hunter and a household need an assault rifle? They don't.
This was during a time when people were hanged for cheating – when women had no rights – when people were burned at the stake for having foretelling dreams. Some things just HAVE to adjust with the times.
Mental Illness
I think early detection of mental illness is key in reducing these kinds of attacks. If schools counselors were able to conduct some sort of testing, every few years, a lot of issues could be uncovered. Of course the beaters, child molesters and druggies would have a problem with that – because their cover would get blown – but who cares? That's what the evaluations would be for. It might even reduce crime because parents would be held to a certain accountability because of the evaluations.
When teachers spend 8 hours a day with our kids – why not incorporate them into assessing our kids? Early detection of social or mental issues could help SO MUCH.
Institutions and Prison
And for God’s sake, bring back institutions that are capable and equipped to deal with severe mental illness.
Make prison a scary place to be – bring back chain gangs, hard labor, express-lane death row. Building prison after prison is not helping. It does create jobs – but those jobs increase the burden of the taxpayer. Stick to the prison’s we have, but make punishment MUCH harsher!!!
Teachers
Teachers can teach as best they can – but as a society, we no longer enforce respect for teachers. Again, they are looked at as babysitters. I think corporal punishment should be brought back to schools. Fear of the paddle sure had an impact in my day.
Parents
Parents blame everyone but themselves. It's high time parents take some of the blame and let their kids take responsibility for their actions.
Electronic Babysitters
Video games, social media, cell phones and television are NOT babysitters. If you don't want to invest the right amount of time in your children and make a sizeable investment in the adults they are going to be – DON'T HAVE KIDS.
Video games are far more real today than ever. When a child becomes so engrossed in virtual reality, especially when their brains are still forming, there's going to be issues.
When kids are left to explore the internet on their own, without supervision, they're going to become exposed to a highly, pornified world. In a pornified world, women are nothing but sex objects – rape is a game, beating and control are the norm – again, the brain is still forming, thus an extremely warped sense of reality sets in and healthy relationships will become extinct.
There is so much sex and violence all around us. It's presented as cool, fun and exciting – but it's anything and everything BUT that.
As a Mother
As a mother, I hope and pray my kids have healthy, functional relationships with someone they love and respect, deeply. I hope they find taking their child to the park, far more exciting than Call of Duty.
Our teachers need much more respect than they are getting – when a teacher really takes an interest in their students, lift them up – help make their job easier. You could NOT touch a babysitter for 8 to 10 hours a day, for what our teachers are being paid. Be thankful for the good ones and hope and pray more people like them take enough interest in being overworked and underpaid, as they help mold the minds of the children who will grow up to be our neighbors, leaders, and bosses.
