Bloody and with the strong possibility of being emotionally scarred for the rest of their lives, the children of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut emerged from their classrooms after the horrific school shooting that took place on December 14, 2012.
Like after every school shooting, a barrage of news reports and memorials flashed repeatedly over national television and as always, the National Rifle Association made several untactful, absurd statements in defense of their precious guns.
They proposed that teachers should be trained to use guns and armed at all times in order to protect the children of U.S. NRA Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre even stated, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Yes, because more guns circulating around small children is an excellent idea.
Training teachers to use firearms would not be this country’s saving grace. It would be its untimely downfall. Now, regardless of how good of a sharp shooter a teacher may be, the issue does not fall with the gun skill level of the educators. The issue falls with deadly glorification of violence in this country. With gun violence in the U.S. at an all time high, it is apparent that there is something clearly wrong with how the citizens perceive guns.
We are all desensitized to violence and most don’t even realize it. From the violent video games we play to the violent movies we all watch, violence is everywhere and it is taking its toll.
In the last decade, there have been close to 50 school shootings in the U.S. alone. And if the number seems low, then my point stands, we are a desensitized country, rapidly growing numb to violence, death and destruction. 50 isn’t a low number, it’s 50 shootings too many. Take 50 and multiply it by the number of children killed in Sandy Hook and you end up with a grand total of 1,000.
The very fact that the NRA tries to defend the mass havoc these weapons do is absolutely appalling. People may kill people, but guns are not left blameless. Adam Lanza couldn’t have killed 20 children so quickly without his .223-caliber Bushmaster XM15-E2S. Seung-Hui Cho wouldn’t have been able to kill 33 people without his Walther P22.
We need to stop denying that guns are dangerous and we need to stop letting the NRA fill our heads with catchy slogans that achieve absolutely nothing. “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” and “I’ll give you my gun when you pry (or take) it from my cold, dead hands,” are some of the absolutely astonishing phrases that have spread like wildfire. Both lack logic, common sense, and the slightest ounce of thought. Really, guns don’t kill people? What about the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado? And who’s taking your gun?
The mass paranoia that the Obama administration is coming to “take your guns” is absolutely ridiculous. If tightening gun control laws and protecting American children is considered taking your guns so be it. Shouldn’t we be willing to do anything to protect the lives the innocent?
The NRA needs to become tactful, because suggesting filling schools with guns after the slaughter of 20 innocent first graders is disrespectful to the victims, their families and anyone who has ever been affected by a school shooting.
They have their 2nd Amendment rights and they can grasp on to those for as long as they like, but they cannot sit back and spit in the face of those shot and killed by their precious guns.
We all need to realize that guns do kill people and our country is in crisis.
