Empty Warehouses

                                                

Last night on Rachel Maddow’s show I saw a report about a warehouse in Newtown filled with toys and other presents for the kids in the town and their families who survived the shooting.  The volunteers don’t know what to do with all the gifts.

            It made me think how misplaced our values are in this society.  I understand why people all around the world wanted to do something to express their sympathy for this community, but why provide more things that never will replace their lost ones or assuage their grief. 

            There’s only one action that will insure that this kid of tragedy never happens again.  Take guns out of the hands of people who don’t value life.  That doesn’t just mean people like the maniac who killed those 26 people in Newtown.  What about his mother who appear normal but kept all kinds of weapons in her home probably knowing that her son had easy access to all of them? 

            What about the gun manufacturers all over Connecticut who have made a fortune manufacturing all kinds of assault weapons that are easily distributed throughout the United States?

            What about the NRA president that proposed that we distribute even more guns to security officers and other personnel who staff the schools all over the country?  Where will these people keep their guns when they’re not holstering them at the schools?  How many of their own kids would like to get their hands on them when their parents are not working?

            We all know that every state has its own laws about selling and licensing guns for both hunting and other recreational purposes.  Some states even allow adults to bring guns to bars, schools, and other public places.

            Why can’t we have federal regulations about guns that are true for everyone in every state so we don’t have to worry about criminals transporting guns across state lines or buying them by mail illegally from other states?

            Until some of these questions are answered we will continue to have mass shootings in every state in the country and none of children will be safe.  No amount of sympathy gifts can replace the lives lost to guns.

                                                                (1/4/2012)