Commentary:
We swore as a nation, we would not forget the event of 911. It change us and we realize we needed to change how we view the world. We vow the same thing with the Sandy Hook massacre and again we realize we need to change how we view the world. These two events have similarities. They both were extremely shocking for this day and age, both events screamed 'we need change' and they both involved a killer or terrorist. The only difference between the two. One involved a 'foreign' terrorist and the other a 'domestic' terrorist.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/us/domestic-terrorism/index.html
There's a saying most of us are familiar with, 'Guns doesn't kill people. People kill people.' The mass killing of Sandy Hook is an event that is no longer acceptable. It has made us realize we need to change something. Something is not right in our society and the senseless death of twenty, six and seven year olds cried out for justice. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/obama-gun-control-actions-president...
In the sadness and despair of our loss, we blame guns for the death of our children. Yes, it was the bullets from these guns that killed our children. So to make a stand it seems only reasonable that we need tougher gun control. But the guns didn't kill our kids. The person who fired the gun is responsible. Making tougher gun regulations isn't working. In the past we've done this. This action has only been a band-aid for the real problem. We need more to protect our society from domestic threats. Yes. These killers are domestic terrorists, and we need regulations that treat these events as terrorist attacks.
http://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/the-domestic-terrorism-threat
Who really knows. Maybe in part we do need tougher gun regulations. Especially in certain parts of the country. Like the bigger cities. Where guns is a way life. But, in almost all cases of mass public murder, the incident usually occurs in rural areas. Mass killers usually have a previous background of strange behavior. There are almost always factors that lead up to the main event. Another common fact, they almost always kill themselves in the end. There are common denominators.
We should be honest. We need to address the person who is aiming these guns at the public and explore what kind of mentality it takes to want to kill with such a vengeance and explore ways where as a society we can intercept and maybe keep these situations from happening. If nothing else decrease the number killed. With almost every mass killer, warning signs, potentials existed and for what ever reason we (society) either choose to ignore the warning signs or that individual slips through the cracks in our health system. http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/01/mass-killings-patterns/
911 was perpetrated foreign terrorists, and Sandy Hook was nothing less then domestic terrorism. Just in the past year there were 18 mass shootings, killing more then 88 persons. The highest death rate in history and in one year, all from mass public shootings. It appears domestic terrorism is on the increase. The severity of the killing grows more shocking. Like 911, we need to look outside the box to finds creative ways to stop this senseless killing. It is no longer just about gun control.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/12/14/1337221/a-timeline-of-mass-s...
http://www.examiner.com/article/top-five-mass-shootings-for-2012?cid=db_...
The Sandy Hook killings were a modern day wake up call. Only one other time in history where a large number of children were killed. The mass killing of May 18, 1927 in Bath Township, Michigan. What Wikipedia calls the Bath School Disaster. A crazed former employee kills 38 elementary school children, six adults and goes and injures 58 others. The killer, Andrew Kehoe, a 55-year-old school board treasurer who display a number of disturbing behaviors long before he went off the deep end. It happen in a rural area and the incident ending with him killing himself. Kehoe methodically collected large amounts of explosives, over extended period of time, in what appear to be a well thought out killing spree. Because of the year and lack of media this incident didn't get the public exposure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster
In the last fifteen years we've had at least three extremely shocking public mass shootings because these incidents were school related. A place where children should be safe.
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on April 20, 1999, in Jefferson County, Colorado. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, kills 12 students and one teacher. They injured 21 additional students. These two boys displayed very disturbing behaviors on line through their blogs as early 1996. Even with complaints, these boys wasn't taken serious. The Wikipedia has a lengthy synopsis on the history/background of these two killers. In the end they committed suicide. Both boys display anger issues that came out verbally on line with threats that made many uncomfortable. Again their actions were pre-planned, calculated and these boys had one agenda; to kill and terrorize as many as possible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre, on April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a senior at Virginia Tech, shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others in two separate attacks, before killing himself. Cho had a history from childhood of mental illness. Because of privacy acts, his background-no one knew. Cho slipped through the cracks in our mental health system. Cho's actions, behaviors and disturbing conduct toward others warranted many complaints. Even with a court order follow up and after being institutionalize, Cho was left to follow up on his own mental health care. This is more common then most realize. Can we really expect a mentally disturb individual follow up on his own care?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre
Then there was the Sandy Hook massacre. December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza fatally shot twenty children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Very little is known about this young man. Which in part is disturbing. He had very little social connections with the outside world. Lanza committed suicide in the end, but not before killing his mother who was his first victim. Which again leaves more questions. This case is still being investigated and it may be years before the real facts come out.
The video below describes, what makes a mass killer go off the deep end. We need to do more then just make tougher gun regulations. We need protection from the shooter.
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-18/opinions/36474274_1_adam-l...
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57559442/investigators-probe-life-of...
As we see above, these shocking massacres, the bullets killed, but a shooter pointed the gun. In all these cases the killer's background were disturbing. There were warning signs that either our system ignored, privacy issues pursued and/or the shooter slipped through the cracks of our system. These cases were in rural areas and all the killers killed themselves at the end of the rampage. There are elements to all of these cases that have similarity, and/or common threads. It's these facts that show we need more then tougher gun control.
http://news.yahoo.com/pro-gun-rallies-across-u-attack-obamas-curbs-15411...
When 911 occurred, we had to change many aspects of our life style. Tougher regulations across the board, but we also implemented new programs that protected passengers on planes better. This and much more were just a part of the changes. We became educated and we started looking at the characteristics of these foreign terrorists or profiling. We became creative in finding the flaws in our system. We began offering and implemented preventive measures that picked up on the warning signs. We banned together as a society and became more vigilant. Many new organizations were founded and established to come up with ways to better protect the public. One well known federal agency is Homeland Security founded in 2002. http://www.dhs.gov/about-dhs
It took 911 for us to understand we need to change how we view the world around us. Now we have one of the safest airport security systems in the world. The creation of Homeland Security looks for the warning signs and with tougher regulations across the board. We've been bless not to repeat 911. They serve to protect all Americans and their job is to prevent potential foreign terrorism.
http://pinterest.com/mmilstein/famous-murderers-serial-mass-killers/
Most of us believe 'taking away our gun rights' isn't the answer. Most agree tougher regulations need to be enforced. Stiffer background checks. Removing assault rifles from the main stream market may be steps toward cutting back the larger number of deaths. Like 911 we need to go further. If a person has mental problems that makes them a threat to society, that needs to be address. If anyone shows threatening behavior or actions, this too needs red flags and made public record. The public needs to know the dangers. We need to examine our mental health programs and try to patch the flaws in programs with updated regulations before another Sandy Hook, Columbine or Virginia Tech happen. To release a seriously ill mental patient and expect him to follow-up in his own mental health, treating him with the same rights as a sane person is just plain crazy. Cho is a pure example of what is wrong with our mental health system.
We together need to be vigilant for behaviors that seem threatening and report to authorities. We need to know that these reports are taken seriously. We should know why a person wants multiple guns and for what purpose a person wants assault rifles. There shouldn't be a good excuse for having them. Even if the owner poses no danger, these weapons become target for theft.
When a person wants to kill, they'll find a means. No matter how stiff gun laws get, the bad guy will find a weapon even if he has to steal to get it. There are many theories about what makes a mass murder and the following sites will show the common traits. These individuals thought processes are off and because there is very little support and supervision they are left to care for themselves. For them, living in normal society is too much and they can't handle the normal stresses of living in our society. The killing spree is their final act of desperation. The killing of them selves is a clear statement, 'I've had enough'. They're screaming for someone to pay attention.
http://nakedlaw.avvo.com/crime/11-common-traits-of-mass-murderers-and-se...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1612694,00.html
Now the question: As a society have 'we' had enough? There are flaws in our mental health system. Stiffer gun regulations are just part of the solution. We need ways to deal with the shooter. Finding ways to control and stop a shooter makes more sense then just dwelling on gun control. Yes, guns were used to kill people, 'but guns don't shoot people, people shoot people'. We may not be able to stop all mass shootings. We may not always see these tragedies coming.
Like 911, and now with Sandy Hook we vow to stop this senseless killing and we need to look at other options and try to decrease the probability of domestic terrorism. We should treat domestic terrorism, like foreign terrorism and stop these terrorists where and when we can. There are many misconceptions. There are many theories and thoughts on how to deal with this social problem. But up to this point the only actions taken are more gun regulations. This will take more then tougher gun regulations.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/16/us/domestic-terrorism/index.html
http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2012/12/18/top-10-myths-about-ma...
Voice your concerns today. The killer is making killing a social problem and now society needs to find better solutions.
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