As we sit, still numb from the sight of another tragic massacre at one of our schools... this time, an ELEMENTARY school, of all places. Helpless children. (and thanks to gun restrictions... Helpless Adults) As this new shooting takes the forefront of our National Media... As many times before, We sit asking ourselves "Who, What, Why and How".
"Who" on earth would do this?
"What" could we have done to prevent it,
...or at least "lessen" the severity of it?
"Why" is this becoming so commonplace?
"How" can we prevent it from happening again?
Where are we headed as a country? Where will we be in 20 years... 30 years... 50 years??? ... And, what is the "real" problem that leads to this kind of massacre as frequently as we have had it occur. What are the "common links". What is the "answer" to stopping it?
IS there an answer???
CAN we stop it?
Is the problem as simple as taking away "guns" (not that that would be simple). Or, is it the "lack of security"? Are we a "naive" society that thinks everyone is safe and our government will protect us? Can our government "protect" us? Should that even be the "job" of the government?
We spend a fortune on entitlement programs for people who "literally choose" not to work. What about those who are "mentally ill" and cannot work, or sometimes even "function" in our society. What are we spending to help them? We spend a fortune on locking up drug dealers and now we have laws that give drug dealers more jail time than murderers... literally! Case in point... When someone simply "drives on the interstate and passes a school zone with drugs in their trunk", they can be convicted under new "drug free school zone" laws that carry significantly high mandatory minimum 100% sentences and some have led to sentences that I have personally seen were far greater than sentences for rapist and murderers. All the while, we cannot seem to lock away the criminally insane and protect our society from those that really have the most risk of doing something like what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Now, I know what you are saying... But, Dave, How can you compare those two scenarios. The entitlement programs didn't "cause" this." And you would be right. But... our government leaders have their priorities all mixed up. The liberal left want to take all the guns thinking that will solve the problem.
But would this guy have "followed" those laws??
It's a rhetorical question.
And now, the hollywood jesters and left winged tree-huggers are screaming for more “gun control”. You know, because THAT works soooooo well in the GUN FREE ZONES ... where most of these mass murders have occurred, by the way. Coincidence? Hmmmmm. Probably not!
Schools, shopping malls, universities, theaters… even Banks.
Instead of whining about GUN CONTROL and our INALIENABLE Second Amendment rights, they ought to be demanding we abolish those so-called “gun free zones”, which are doing nothing but creating target rich environments for the mentally disturbed mass murderers.
These “Gun free zones” are killing our children.
Why don't you ban those?!?
FBI statistics prove that mass murderers purposefully choose “gun free zones” to commit their crimes… for obvious reasons. They know there is not a good likelihood that someone will be shooting back at them until the Police arrive…. At which time they will promptly kill themselves.
These mass murderers, especially those that target little children in schools, are assuredly disturbed. But more than that, they are COWARDS. I venture to say they would not enter a school where there was a sign that says "Staff Heavily Armed. Any attempt to hurt the children in this building will be met with DEADLY FORCE".
No. Instead, they choose defenseless children and citizens in shopping malls, and theaters, and banks… today’s “gun free zones”.
How many of these mass murderers would choose, say, a gun show exhibit or a target range to commit their heinous crimes? Have you ever heard of a mass murder at a gun show? Again, rhetorical question there.
The belief that these “gun free zones” will prevent crime relies upon flawed reasoning, namely the belief that criminals will be deterred by these new “gun free zone” laws, even though they are not deterred by longstanding laws against MURDER… or ARMED ROBBERY.
What do you think is more likely... That a lawful responsible gun owner is going to walk in a bank with his gun in the small of his back, and all the sudden decide to ROB the bank? Or that he could be the guy in line behind the guy that "chose" to ignore the law against "robbing the bank" in the first place, and possibly STOP him from hurting many others??
A person who is willing to commit a serious crime like murder or armed robbery, or a person who is planning to kill dozens of people and then kill themselves, is not even going to give a second thought to the penalty for carrying a gun. They know that if they are caught, the gun possession charge will be the least of their worries… or they are so mentally disturbed that they are not thinking rationally about the penalties.
Now, I know that I may not have all the answers... but I do know this. There are two things our government has taken out of the school. One a bit more important than the other, but I think BOTH have significantly contributed to the severity of this massacre. What are they?
God… and Guns.
There should be NO place that we are not allowed to have guns to protect ourselves and our loved ones, and yes, even our children… NO PLACE!
And, certainly, we should have that right in a place where we drop off our children to be taught and protected!
Washington owes Sandy Hook Elementary administration and their parents an apology that could never measure up.
That administration never had a chance… not because HE was armed… but because they were not!
Crime Time Central Host, Attorney David Ridings has been on every side of the criminal justice system over the past 25 + years. He spent approximately a decade as a police officer, spent a year at the District Attorney's Office, and has practiced Criminal Defense Law for the past 14 years in his Nashville Criminal Defense Law Firm. His practice is entirely "criminal defense", but over 95% of that practice is in the area of "
Driving Under the Influence" (DUI Defense). If you or a loved one has been charged with
DUI or any other crime, you need EXPERIENCE. Ridings has that experience, and broadcasts his knowledge each Sunday from Noon - 2pm on his show "Crime Time Central" on Supertalk 99.7 WTN.
Contact Attorney David Ridings today for a
Nashville Criminal Attorney with real street experience.