Strange Days

Upon learning about the mass shooting of 20 children and 6 adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, I had no words.

Now I’m saying that U.S. residents must have a conversation about guns.

My conversation starter: Why is it necessary for nonmilitary people to have assault weapons? Seriously!

I read that Nancy Lanza, mother of alleged shooter 20-year-old Adam Lanza, was a gun enthusiast who taught her sons to shoot. Were her guns, which included a rifle, locked away so her son couldn’t access them? If not, why not? Was Adam Lanza treated for his psychological issues? If not, why not?

Often I hear the argument from gun advocates that guns don’t shoot people, people shoot people. Also, if guns are banned, only criminals will have guns, they assert. Well, to my knowledge, Adam Lanza wasn’t a criminal until he shot 26 people, plus his mother and, finally, himself.

Yes, I believe we need a meaningful dialogue about gun safety and gun control. Not only must we talk, but we must listen to each other – and do something.

With a shooting this week at a shopping mall outside Portland, Oregon, and a reported shooting in an Orange County, California, mall, we are in strange days.

Writing Diva