I am not one to weigh in on political debates on Facebook, but its my blog and I will weigh in if I want to.
I do not believe that we have a gun control issue. I believe that we have a mental health crisis. I grew up in the country, and everyday at school nearly every truck in the parking lot had a shotgun or two in it. On occasion, people became angry with one another and there would be a fist fight in the school parking lot, but no one was ever shot.
I absolutely believe in the second amendment to the constitution granting the right to citizens to bear arms. I believe in concealed carry laws allowing people to carry guns with them upon completing a proper training course. I was on a date once, and he only got a second date when we walked out into the parking lot and guy pulled a knife on us. My date pretended to reach for his wallet, and pulled a gun instead. We had the guy on his knees waiting for the police when they arrived. I had my mother’s bracelet on that evening. I almost never wear it, and it has no value what so ever. How sad I would have been if that punk had taken it. My date didn’t just stop one robbery that night, he stopped the dozen or so more the punk would have pulled off if he had not come across a man with a gun.
The issues with school shootings are not the possession of guns. Many of the incidences have involved home made bombs as well. This you could never ban. There are so many ways to build a bomb with common household ingredients. You could never ban everything. Guns are not the issue.
I believe that many Americans have lost their sense of community, their sense of belonging. Little is more lonely in a crowded city than it is by oneself on a mountain top. Growing up on the farm, I was out in the middle of no where, and I never felt alone. We had a community. We had our own immediate and extended family on the farm. Mom and Dad often worked late. We would just head to my grandmother’s house, or to my aunt’s house. We would always find someone that would ask us about our day, lecture us about our grades and feed us snacks. I miss the homemade brownies.
I remember the first time that I went to New York. I was around 26 years old, and I was traveling there alone for work. Never in my life have I felt more crowded, overwhelmed with people, yet all alone. This is a very real thing.
Humans need a sense of community. Being human comes with the need to feel accepted and a part of a family or community. Instead of tearing each other apart on social media over the issue of gun control, perhaps we should all find a reason to come together as a community.