It Is Time To Do Something

With the new Congress in place and having averted the fiscal cliff, it appears that a number of gun control bills are going to be presented.  In the past 24-hours I have read three different articles relative to this topic, and all referencing the massacre at Newtown.  Matt Carver, SAI Legal Services Director, wrote at length in our organizations monthly newsletter.  I read a column in Sports Illustrated.  And, this morning on abcnews.com, I read about Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly’s interview with Diane Sawyer.  I know that as a public employee I am a servant of the taxpayers, and when I say something, it is scrutinized by “all of my bosses.”  I also know that when I say something it carries some weight because of the position that I am in.

Immediately after the shooting at Newtown, a number of prominent individuals spoke out right away about the issue of guns in our society.  I am glad that people finally have.  While they were doing this, I wrestled with whether or not I should.  I can certainly handle the criticism as I recognize that on many fronts, people are going to disagree with what I say.  I have had that many times in the past.  There will be those who would say that in my position I shouldn’t be taking a position!  However, at the same time others will expect me to take a one.  The public certainly would expect me to take a position on drugs in school, or on the topic of harassment or bullying.  So why is a position on guns any different?  I don’t think it is.

We have laws that prohibit guns on school campuses unless they are in the possession of a law enforcement officer.  With recent changes that have been made with concealed weapons in Iowa, the law still prohibits them on school campuses.  I am a strong advocate of this law.  We do not need guns on school property, and arming volunteers as the NRA executive vice president suggests terrifies me.  Arming teachers, as a congressman in Texas advocates, could create chaos.  In both instances I see disaster.  I don’t need someone like George Zimmerman, the rent-a-cop from Florida, volunteering to be on our school grounds to protect us.  I had a teacher remark the other day, “Heck, I forget where I leave my coffee cup some days.  What if I forget where I set my gun?”  More guns at school will result in more shootings.  There have been armed security personnel at some of the schools where shootings have taken place and they did not prevent the shootings.  At Columbine there were armed security personnel and they were not able to stop the two young men that put school shootings on the front page.

We have the Second Amendment in our country and while I am not a hunter or a gun owner, I respect the rights of people to own guns.  However, that amendment was written when people carried muskets, not when people have had access to AK-47s and high-compression clips.  People do not need to have those kinds of weapons in their possession and we need to do a very thorough job getting them off the streets.  In addition, we need to put forth a very strong effort to put in place universal background checks.  And, of equal important, resources need to be poured into mental health care.  It is an embarrassment that our nation does not address this.  The time is now to address all of these problems.  I for one believe that we can live in a better place and will work hard to bring that about.