↑

Building Our Story

Building Our Story One Day At A Time

Home » Blog » Uncategorized » Something HAS to change.

Something HAS to change.

Uncategorized

SOMETHING HAS TO CHANGE…and I am striving for a change for my beautiful babies.  I cannot imagine losing them to some careless act that could have been avoided. 
On December 14, 2012, a gunman entered the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and opened fire, killing 26 people, 20 of whom were children. Completely innocent unarmed victims.
Columbine. Red Lake Minnesota. Essex Vermont. Lancaster. Aurora. Virginia Tech. To name a few. How many more innocents must die at the hands of an antiquated and oft-misinterpreted amendment? Enough.
It’s time to stop the violence.

Gun Control doesn’t have to mean no guns. I’m not suggesting we take guns away. I’m suggesting we put tighter controls on acquiring and owning them. Gun show loopholes must be stopped. Ammunition should not be sold online. Mandatory wait periods should be enforced during which time a thorough background check, psychological and medical evaluation and character references should be completed. More accountability should be placed in the hands of retailers. When patrons refuse wait periods, authorities should be notified. Training and te sting should be mandatory, as should a renewal process that includes many of the above-mentioned evaluation terms.

Gun owners and non-gun owners need to come together and agree on regulations that protect the right to own a firearm for sane, responsible adults and keep them out of the hands of the mentally unstable.
I, for one, would most definitely be willing to submit myself to these terms when it’s easier for me to go to a gun show and pick up a firearm than it is for me to go to the local pharmacy and buy cold medication. Acquiring and owning a gun should be at least as controlled as getting a learner’s permit, license and privilege to drive a car.
Gun control alone is not the whole of the solution, but it’s a start. And if it keeps guns out of the hands of even one mentally unstable person and saves one sweet life, it’s worth it.
That’s why I signed a petition to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama, which says:
“Our second amendment rights are long overdue a reevaluation. How many more senseless and entirely PREVENTABLE shootings have to occur before we do something about Gun Control.
As a citizen and constituent of this great country, I am asking that you take a firm stand and make a positive change by restricting access to guns and saving lives.
I don’t have a gun. I don’t want a gun. I don’t need a gun. But somehow the guns always wind up in the hands of people crazy enough to use them irresponsibly and dangerously. This HAS TO BE STOPPED.
Will you sign the petition too?
Click here to add your name!

Photobucket

Related Posts:

Comments

  1. Shelley Paige says

    I want to preface my argument with this: I agree that it shouldn't be easy for mentally incapacitated people to buy or possess a firearm. I also think it's a good idea for gun owners to lock them up in a steel case that only the owner can get into. While I do not completely disagree with you, I want you to think about a few things.

    Let's not forget there was a time when most people did own firearms and most people never went on mass shootings. This is a sign of our times. We've become so politically correct that we no longer punish our children or suggest that our friend seek help for her bizarre and inappropriate child. We no longer punish our criminals because to give them what they deserve is not exactly PC.

    I live in a town that all too recently lost an 11 year old at the hands of a child molester that had already been found guilty of crimes against children, served SIX MONTHS and then set free. This happens every day in our country. Every single day, they are getting "time served" or probation. No one barks about that and we're losing more than twenty children a day at the hands of these monsters.

    Have you ever asked a group of criminals what they are most afraid of? The answer is always: that my chosen victim will have a gun. So if you flaunt the fact that you have no gun, you my friend, are an easier target than me. These are facts. My husband is a well trained martial artist as well a licensed and responsible gun owner. He has taught me how to use a gun (I am also licensed and responsible) and no one will come into my home without being killed. When that hits the news, no one will ever come into my home again. I assure you.

    I also encourage everyone to read some gun facts. See how many women each year stop an assailant from raping and killing her. Or the men that protected themselves for that matter.
    Those people shouldn't be punished because of these lunatics. Again, I'm not against proving a clean bill of mental health, but this is bigger than that.

    Now, the real issue:
    Each of the following take more lives than guns each year in the US. Some gun deaths are in self defense where someone was killing the killer. I hardly count that as a loss.

    Cigarettes. Ok, what exactly are cigarettes good for except taxation? Nothing. Not only that, how many people other than the smokers are being diagnosed with lung cancer. Too many to count.

    Alcohol. Not only because of the detriment to the liver, but because it is widely misused and people far too young and too responsible are allowed to use it IN PUBLIC.

    Vehicles. Now at least they're useful, but still used inappropriately and responsibly for hundreds of thousands of death per year in the US.

    So, tell me what we should do about cigarettes and alcohol. Age has nothing to do with it and that's the only way it's regulated. Should we infringe on the rights of smokers to save the millions of lives it would save to outlaw tobacco? Frankly, I'm not against that idea, but I know some smokers who would be.

    Bombs can be made out of household items and can result many more than 27 fatalities. Fertilizer, they can be made from fertilizer and it doesn't take a genius to do it.

    These people are crazy. They will find a way. Reform mental health, reform criminal accountability.

categories

archives

Follow