One year ago, the second deadliest school shooting in our country claimed the lives of six women and twenty children, as well as the mentally ill 20-year-old who walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School heavily armed. Oh, and his mother.
Did you know that since Sandy Hook there have been twenty-one school shootings resulting in eighteen deaths and twenty-eight injuries? This is not to mention the infinite damage done to families, friends, and bystanders whose lives will never be the same. While these numbers are no where near as dramatic as the twenty-eight lost in Newton, Connecticut just 365 days ago, they are nonetheless significant. They represent eighteen lives, eighteen souls, eighteen people who were snatched from the earth too young.
In fact, let’s go beyond the eighteen and the twenty-eight.
I came across a website which projects the number of years stolen based on the number of deaths attributed to gun violence in 2013. The number is staggering – 10,865 people have been killed so far this year. That’s 10,865 mothers that will never hold their child again, an immense network of friends suddenly experiencing a loss, and never-ending prayers lifted up to God.
What is the solution? What can we, concerned citizens sick of receiving this news, do to stop it?
Is gun control the answer? Well, I can’t deny that I am in favor of stricter gun laws and anyone who isn’t need only look at the facts to see that far too many people in our country own guns and far too many cite their reson for owning a gun as “protection against crime.” To me, that reason says it all. The 67% of people who own guns in the US do not feel safe enough in their own homes to live there without a deadly weapon AND these people feel comfortable enough to use the weapon if they feel they are the victim of a crime. Wow. That scares me.
Couldn’t we do something about that? Couldn’t we reform our police forces and prison systems so that people feel safe in their homes without a firearm? Couldn’t we do something to regulate the importation and trade of illegal firearms and weapons? Couldn’t we make sure guns stay out of the hands of violent and unstable people? Couldn’t we do something to help people who feel the need to attack other human beings?
Of course we can. Gun control alone isn’t going to fix the problem, I think plenty of people will back me up on that.
In my opinion, the most unfortunate problem in our society related to gun violence today is the stigma placed on mentally ill people. (I am in NO way stating that everyone who is mentally ill is dangerous, nor am I stating that everyone who feels the need to own or use a gun is depressed or anxious, merely that the two categories occasionally cross paths.) Depression and anxiety run rampant in people of all ages and yet these people are not aware of the resources available to them or do not feel comfortable exploring their options or asking for help. Counseling and rehabilitation can do wonders for those with depressive symptoms, but beyond that there must be a desire for help. Treatment alone can only do so much; for years, society has told us that those with mental illnesses are somehow less. This is so far from the truth but with that mentality, why would anyone ask for help? We must be strong enough as a community to offer help where we see it may be needed, but not force anyone into a tough situation. We must be open enough to accpet that some people may not want help, but make sure they know it is there if they change their mind. We must be creative enough to come up with new solutions to busting stereotypes, especially those surrounding mental illness.
But most of all, we must be willing to recognize that guns are rarely a good idea.
All opinions in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of HCND.
Photos 1 (provided by author), 2, 3