New Information For Connecticut School Shooting, Adam Lanza, Gun Violence

In an effort not to make a knee-jerk reaction to the recent Newtown, Connecticut school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, I’ve waited to gather as much of the information as I could before adding my two cents to the plethora of information stemming from the incident involving the reportedly mentally disturbed Adam Lanza, gun violence in America, and what we can do to prevent gun crimes similar to that which took place in Newtown, Connecticut.

I think most gun owners and non-gun owners alike will agree that something needs to be done about the seemingly recent rash of gun crimes, especially in schools and other areas typically associated with being safe places to be. The question is, “What?” To jump to one conclusion and focus on only one of the many issues involved in violent behavior, and especially school shootings, is seriously short-sighted.

It’s a no-brainer to say normal human beings want common sense laws and efforts aimed at keeping children safe. Reducing not just gun violence, but violence in general--especially aimed at defenseless children in our schools--is one of the most important tasks we face. We also should want to do whatever is possible to keep the teachers who work in our schools safe. The school shooting at Sandy Hook brings up a lot of questions, and those using their common sense should be able to agree that there isn’t only one thing that will provide a simple solution.

If we are serious about finding new solutions to this never-ending problem it’s time to change our old tired and failed methods of protection for our children and innocent teachers just trying to do their job. So where do we start? My suggestion is to rule out the things that are the least likely culprit for the cause of school shootings and focus our attention on that which will have the most swift reduction in these types of senseless crimes.

According to the FBI, 8.5 times as many people are murdered with knives, blunt objects and bare hands, as with rifles of any type. The FBI data shows that 323 murders were committed with rifles of any kind in 2011. In comparison, 496 murders were committed with hammers and clubs, and 1,694 murders were perpetrated with knives.

Knowing this, it’s interesting to note that only when a gun is the object used to perpetrate a crime that the person actually responsible for the blame is rarely the focus of the media or the blame. When a man slaughters his family with a knife, no one is clamoring for the ban of steak knives. When a violent gang uses machetes in a murderous spree against rival gang members, no one calls for the confiscation of machetes or hatchets. When chemicals in the home kill children, we don’t call for the closing the chemical factories.

Even though automobiles cause far more casualties on a yearly basis (more than 32,000 deaths) than almost anything else in America, no one is calling for a halt to the manufacturing of automobiles. When someone kills another by means of their 2000 lb. automotive projectile we typically believe in punishing the individual for his or her actions. However, the uninvolved drivers are not punished by having thier car taken away, yet isn’t it strange that when someone commits a crime with a firearm there is an outcry for all gun owners to give up their guns instead of holding the individual responsible for his own actions?

If our government is so concerned about preventing deaths perhaps the answer is to confiscate our vehicles. Is removing all the vehicles from the road too drastic? Then let’s just eliminate a segment of the automobile deaths by eliminating a few models of vehicles. In fact, if we wanted to eliminate 93 deaths today all we have to do is ban vehicles right now.

But we don’t. Why? Because it’s too convenient for us to have our vehicles even though thousands of people die every year in vehicles on the roads of America. Or, more aptly stated, we’re willing to sacrifice 32,000 lives every year simply because it would be inconvenient for the rest of us to give up these murder weapons.

Focusing on the gun instead of the criminal seems to suggest we might as well have a trial involving only the gun and let the perpetrator off the hook.Why is it that in these cases so many politicians are so quick to blame an inanimate object instead of the very person who used an object in a manner it was never intended for? Why do these same politicians try so hard to push their agenda on those who never abuse these same items? Is there an underlying reason being kept from the public?

In the days to come, we’ll be looking into the truth about why you’re being led to believe guns are the problem for school violence, and specifically how your attention is being diverted by the anti-gun lobby—and why.