If you see something, say something.
This mantra has been drummed in to us for several years now, to the point that it has made many people overly paranoid. But that is not a bad thing considering the times that we live in. You would probably have to be living under a rock not to know that America suffered through two more mass shootings last weekend. Although perhaps not, as there have been more mass shootings (255) in 2019 than there have been days in the year (with August 5th being the 217th day)!! So very sad, but not at all surprising really as guns are so easily obtainable.
What did shock me was that the gunman from Dayton, Ohio was known to have an obsession with violence. Old classmates of his reported that at school he had a ‘hit list’ of people that he either wanted to kill or rape. This had all been previously reported to the police, investigated and yet a few years on he was still legally allowed to own a gun.
According to CNN the mother of the El Paso, Texas shooter also called the police only weeks before the attack. She was very concerned that her 21 year-old son was not mature or experienced enough to own an AK-type firearm. Again the authorities didn’t take these concerns too seriously and allegedly told her he was legally allowed to own this weapon!
So seeing something and saying something doesn’t always work. Especially if no one is listening. I am not sure where the blame lies really. All I do know, is that if I had a son who came home with any kind of gun I would certainly not think ‘Oh well, the cops said it is ok, so I have nothing to worry about”. On the other hand, it is probably quite stupid to argue with someone who owns a scary assault rifle… No one should have easy access to weapons, particularly when they are clearly not of sound mind.
But I do know how easy it is to stick your head in the sand. Years ago I lived with someone who had a gun. I was so shocked when I found out. They had never mentioned that they owned one and it had never crossed my mind to ask. My immediate reaction was to say that I can’t live with a gun in the house. They laughed and even made fun of me, but they thankfully soon got rid of it.
I am not sure I would ever want to assert my Second Amendment rights, as the thought of shooting someone, even in self-defense fills me with horror. Plus more than likely I would shoot myself by mistake.
Homeland Security have published a guide on how to respond if you are ever in the situation of having to deal with an active shooter, which can be found at www.dhs.gov. They readily admit that each situation is unpredictable, but it is still worthwhile having a quick read. More importantly I would suggest learning how to treat a gunshot wound. Hopefully it is a skill that you will never have to use. I have have only ever witnessed one shooting, which was still one too many. California does have stricter gun laws than many other states. In fact a new law was implemented on July 1st of this year. Background checks are now required for all ammunition purchases. The law also requires that all ammo purchases take place in person. Including online orders which must be delivered to a licensed vendor for customer pick-up. This apparently, has already blocked 100 sales in the first month. But hopefully deterred many others.
But it is still not enough as even if this law had been in effect in Ohio or Texas it wouldn’t have prevented the loss of 31 lives last weekend. The shooters would have passed the background checks. It didn’t manage to stop the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in San Francisco either. The gunman in that case was only 19 years old; 21 is the legal age in CA. He purchased the gun legally in Nevada and just smuggled it back in to California!
Really they should raise the cost of a firearms license. As currently it is only $25 to get one in California. Insurance policies should be mandatory too, just as is required with owning cars. I am certain that if insurance companies were involved the background checks and mental health evaluations would be far more stringent, don’t you? In all honesty, I don’t know really what can be done to stop this as if someone is willing to commit murder they are hardly going to worry about following gun laws are they… but I still think it is worth saying something if you see something, but just insist on being heard!
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Cheers!
Eileen
*Gunshot wound image from artofmanliness.com ( Not sure if it is ok to use ?)
