Guns or Mental Illness?

 I thought the problem was guns.

After the CT shooting, I thought that --- okay --- this is the last straw. Why are we catering to the NRA? Why don't we realize that the 2nd amendment doesn't hold the same water it used to?

We no longer have to fear the same types of challenges/threats as depicted in Red River or The Searchers (I'm a John Wayne fan). Then, it was understandable to bear arms -- as your house was under constant danger especially in new territories. But what are the reasons for bearing arms today? Hunting I can understand -- but isn't there a specific gun for hunting? Why are pistols and such wanted by private citizens? What exactly is the purpose of a gun except to obliterate a said target?

Maybe it's because I'm a city girl. Maybe that's the reason I don't understand the fascination with the firearm. I think it's stupid. And dangerous. I mean -- God forbid -- what if someone in your house, like a child, accesses the firearm -- or what if someone who had been heavily drinking fired it accidentally? There are so many what-ifs and honestly, I wonder if it's really worth it at the end of the day. To the parents who lost a child due to a gun accident -- would they have wished they could go back in time to never have the gun in the first place? I'm sure they would have.

Maybe the problem is guns.

But maybe it's the lack of awareness around mental illness as well.

I encourage everyone to read this piece by Liza Long: "I Am Adam Lanza's Mother"

It's powerful. But debate-worthy.

And it makes you think - what's to blame?


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RIP Newtown, CT




caramel