Yet again, for the 18th time this calendar year to be exact, we are facing a school shooting. The usual thoughts and prayers comments pop up from government officials followed by this is not the appropriate time to address the issue. So, when is the appropriate time? The appropriate time would have been after Columbine. However, we did not address the issue of gun violence then, we just forced schools to establish protocols for dealing with mass shootings and threats. Too many lives have been loss. One life loss is too many in my opinion. However according to government officials, we have yet to reach the critical number to enact change.
I am sick and tired of hearing about the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment was written when people fought with muskets and not semi-automatic assault rifles. I grew up around guns and am not opposed to hand guns and hunting rifles. However, we do not need military style weapons in the community. The only being hunted with them are human beings.
All this talk about mental health is also infuriating. Government officials talk about the need for more mental health care but then are slowly killing the affordable care act and the mental health parity that ensued with that act. They talk about keeping people with mental health issues away from guns. What constitutes mental health issues? Someone with depression five years ago would then be banned for life. That will surely discourage seeking help and make matters worse.
I was planning to share tips for parents about talking with their youth about traumatic events, but we have already posted the tips other times. How many more times are we going to have to help explain unexplainable and mostly avoidable horrific events? We need to stop relying on thoughts and prayers and actually do something productive to address both gun control and mental health.