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| Mass murderer, Nikolas Cruz and his stash of guns |
When I am in Israel, I can hear that
argument. Military personnel that are so pervasive in Israel obviously carry
weapons. As do the police. But it is not
only them. I am amazed at the number of civilians that carry unconcealed weapons.
As I am surprised at the type of people carrying them – religious Jews. While it is mostly Religious Zionists or Dati
Leumi Jews that carry guns, it is not exclusively them.
I suppose that in Israel, Rabbi Kahane’s argument might make sense. There are threats lurking behind every corner. Terrorists abound. I admit
to feeling a sense of comfort and security in Israel when I see a religious Jew carrying a gun. (Although sometimes I wonder how many of these
gun toters have actually been trained in
firearms use and safety. Or how some of them might freeze during an actual event
requiring a quick response. Or worse killing an innocent bystander by mistake out
of sheer nervousness. But still…)
What about America? Should I feel that way here? No. First some background.
The reason I bring all of this up now should be
obvious to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to the news. On Wednesday
at about 2:00 PM Eastern time, 19 year old Nikolas Cruz walked into the South
Florida school he once attended armed with a legally purchased semi-automatic AR
15 assault rifle and proceeded to slaughter students and teachers totaling 17 people.
With many more being injured. He was apprehended and caught. He is now in
custody – charged with 17 counts of premeditated homicide and related charges.
Observing the reaction of victim’s families actually brought me to tears! Just as it did last time something like this happened.
It seems as though mass shootings in schools are beginning to happen on a regular basis. Innocent children are indiscriminately
shot by people with mental issues. People like Nikolas Cruz can easily obtain
weapons and with ease - cut people down in the prime of their lives in a
matter of seconds.
It is my considered opinion that this kind of
thing can be curbed if not eliminated by common sense gun legislation. While
such laws are on the books, there are too many loopholes. For example I
recently became aware of guns being sold on line that are missing a working
part and cannot be fired without it. They can be purchased by anyone of any
age. They contain no serial number or any identifying mark. The missing part
can also be purchased on line along with instructions on how to put them
together to create the perfect untraceable weapon. All legal.
Automatic (rapid-fire) military type assault rifles
are illegal. But they may be sold legally if the automatic feature is disabled. Which can be easily restored or modified after purchase.
There are other laws designed to prevent gun sales to criminals and the mentally
disabled. But these laws have giant loopholes, too.
All the loopholes need to be closed! There needs to be much stronger gun
legislation in this country. The less guns there are, the less people will be
killed. Study after study has shown this. And yet this simple truth is
ignored by gun enthusiasts and by the politicians in
office that support them. Politicians that cater to the gun lobby – led by
the NRA (National Rifle Association) one of the most powerful lobbies in
Washington.
The NRA is led by Wayne LaPierre, a man I consider to be a Rasha! …and
indirectly responsible for what happened Wednesday. As well as all the previous mass murders
of this type in this country. I’m sure we will be hearing from him shortly (if
he hasn’t already commented) touting the second amendment to the constitution.
Which states:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
The purpose of this amendment is to assure the existence
of a well regulated militia. The US has that in spades. Soldiers need to be fully
armed. Do we really need private citizens that have no intention of being part
of the military to be armed? But I am not here to argue for repeal. I am arguing for controlling access.
What about arguments like ‘Guns don’t kill people.’
People do.’ True there has to be a person pulling the trigger for the gun to
kill. But without a gun, it would be much harder to kill anyone. Guns make it infinitely
easier to do that. The more loopholes we have, the more people that will be killed.
Had Cruz come into those classrooms with a hunting knife, I seriously doubt
that 17 people would have been killed.
It is also true that if guns were outlawed,
law-abiding citizens would not have any. But criminals would easily find ways to
have them. Which is why I am not supportive of outlawing guns completely.
But I am in favor of outlawing assault rifles like the AR 14. There is NOTHING
in the second amendment to prevent such a law. The right to bear arms will
still be in place.
Forbidding semi automatic assault weapons (which
as noted - can easily be converted to automatic mode) will also reduce the
carnage. What possible protective value is there in an assault weapon, anyway?
The purpose of these weapons are to kill as many people as quickly as possible –
a useful tactic in battle. But private ownership is insane. It can only appeal
to gun enthusiasts. What kind of obsession is that, anyway?! It is the gun enthusiast that converts them back to automatic mode.
Then there is the mental health issue. It appears
that the motive in many of these mass shootings by a young person is in reaction to being constantly bullied by
fellow students. Their built up rage makes
road rage look like child’s play. There needs to be a concerted effort by
schools to end this phenomenon. I know it’s hard to detect since much of it
takes place on hand held social media. But that does not free anyone involved from
tackling this problem. It ought to be a priority.
Administrators, principals, teachers, advisors… and
just about anyone involved with schools needs to brainstorm and figure out ways
to eliminate this scourge from our schools. But it starts with better
parenting. Parents need to be in control of what their children do on social
media.
It is also imperative to create legislation that
would prevent people with any kind of mental health issue (like Cruz) from the
ability to purchase any kind of gun. There
should be no possible way to buy a gun under any circumstances without a thorough
background check. Both with respect to criminal records and to any kind of mental
health issue. It would also be wise to outlaw online purchases of guns as well.
Even those that are missing parts so that cannot be fired!
It ought to be much harder to buy a gun than it is
now. If this latest tragedy doesn’t teach us this, nothing will. Unfortunately
I believe this to already be the case. Mass shootings like this that have happened
in the past – have resulted in nothing.
Nothing will
change by what I write here today, unfortunately. I doubt that any politicians read
my posts. And even if they did, it probably wouldn’t sway them. But the truth
needs to be told.
