Post by nightboat13 on Dec 15, 2012 2:14:29 GMT -5
And so there's been another mass murder, another school shooting. Most of the victims were too young to understand what was happening as the killer walked through the room, shooting their classmates before killing them.
Can you imagine the horror those little children went through in the last few seconds of their young lives?
It could have been prevented. That's right, it never had to happen.
By the gods, I will not allow it to happen again!
It's not just a matter of gun laws, it's a matter of mental health issues, of domestic terrorism, of the deadly power of lobbyist groups, and of educating both schoolchildren and working adults on ways to survive these attacks.
First, the gun laws:
There is no reason whatsoever for a civilian to own an assault rifle. Period. Assault rifles MUST be outlawed.
There is no reason whatsoever to sell a gun to a mentally ill person. Anyone purchasing a gun MUST be given a mental evaluation.
There is no reason whatsoever to sell a gun to a criminal. Anyone purchasing a gun MUST undergo a criminal background check.
There is no reason for gun owners to behave irresponsibly. More family members and friends than intruders are killed by "personal protection" guns. Anyone purchasing a gun AND their families MUST take gun safety lessons. All guns MUST be kept under lock and key. Hunting guns MUST be disabled and ammunition stored separately out of season. Any gun owner whose weapon was used in a crime will be held responsible for that crime, just as is a bartender that allows a customer to drink too much then drive.
All internet sales and gun shows MUST end.
Domestic terrorism:
To date 92 students have been killed in their schools in the US (including some of the shooters) since 1996. Hundreds more have been injured. There have been mass killings in churches, a mall, restaurants, a movie theater, workplaces, and parking lots. If any of these mass murders had been committed by a foreigner what do you think the reaction would be? Terrorism is terrorism, regardless of who commits it. We should't just shake our heads and then go back to business as usual a few days later.
The resources aren't available to screen everyone that's going anywhere. However, phone lines and websites are at this moment being monitored. Instead of waiting until after a crime to look at the perp's Facebook page, Homeland Security can single out the off-kilter posts and look into the potentially volatile posters before they kill someone.
Mental health issues:
It's clear that too many people are going undiagnosed with mental health problems, and too many people that have been diagnosed can't be trusted to take their medications.
Diagnosis is fairly simple in school-aged children, those with problems can be screened with mental health evaluations and medical exams - which the parent MUST comply with. Parents hate to think their child is "different," and in backwards-thinking parts of the country mental disorders are considered to be religious sins, not health issues. (Think of the suicides from bullying that could have been prevented.) Diagnosing adults is a bit more difficult, it's financially and logistically difficult for any business, friend, neighbor, or family member to make a person get screened unless that person "poses a threat to himself or society." Prisoners could be screened while incarcerated, never a bad idea, but the majority of adults with serious problems are ticking time bombs.
Government funding for mental disease has dwindled to what is clearly a substandard, barbaric level. We need more very-long-term residential facilities, gated communities if you will, where those that go off their meds on the outside will be kept inside in comfortable surroundings and be made to take the medications. More outpatient and short-term inpatient mental health facilities need to be created for those with stress, anger, depression, and drug problems.
Lobbyist groups:
The NRA has been pushing a perversion of the Second Amendment along with the brainless meme "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." They also created disinfo on conspiracy theory sites that convinced the more gullible (and there are a lot of gullible people) that the government was going to "take our guns and put us all in FEMA detention camps." Then they paid government officials to relax gun laws. Why? We know that guns were necessary in the Founding Fathers' time, but not today. We know that guns do kill people. We know that no one's taking our guns and no one's being hauled off to FEMA camps.
The NRA did it because their leaders are gun and ammunition manufacturers and sales were dropping. They needed to drum up business and make gun sales as easy as possible. That's it. It's all about making money on something the public really doesn't want or need.
They dont care who has guns or what they do with them, as long as the manufacturers are making money. Over 70% of the NRA's membership want tougher gun laws, but the leadership won't hear of it.
Pretty much everything that's wrong with our government comes from wealthy lobby groups bribing our elected officials in order to get those officials to vote for the lobby's interests and against their constituents' needs. This must stop. NOW.
Educating children and adults to survive attacks:
I always tell my grandchildren to go out the window and run like hell to the BACK of a neighborhood house. If the owner's there, beat on the door and tell them to call the cops, if not, hide - under the porch, behind the garbage cans, in back of the garage. Stay there until long after the cops all arrive.
People need to be taught how to stay safe. NOW. Televised public service messages would help.
People need to be aware of their surroundings - where each of the exits are, where the nearest safe places are, and open areas to avoid. Running away is good, but not to the main exit, if possible. Most people will go there and those in front can fall and be trampled while those in the back make too easy targets. Running into the street once outside isn't a good idea, either. In a school or office if escape isn't possible lock the door, turn off the lights, and cluster everyone in a corner that can't be seen from the door. Stay quiet until the cops secure the building. If no escape or hiding is possible, play dead, even if that means getting a handful of blood from the victim next to you and smearing it on the side of your head.