Meaningful changes in our gun laws
In the early 80s, I read an article in a Dallas morning paper that a young child had shot and killed a playmate in a subdivision adjoining ours. I called a friend in that area and was told a second grader in my second grader’s class was the one who had done the shooting.
When my second grader got up, I related that a class member had killed a playmate. Immediately, without hearing any details, the response was that that would be “RS.”
If a second grader can spot a troubled person of concern, surely we as adults should be more equipped to determine which family members are a threat to themselves and others.
Family members should be allowed to put other troubled members on a do-not-purchase list without having to go through a judicial hearing. Reason for the lack-of-a-hearing option is that a troubled person may pose a threat either stated or implied to other family members, which makes them afraid to publicly confront the person for fear of retaliation. Also, a judicial hearing may not be timely due to case load. Of course, a person judicially declared mentally incompetent or someone who has a restraining order should automatically go on the list.
We as hunters willingly comply with the three-cartridge-in-a-chamber limit when hunting migratory birds. Consequently, it would not be unreasonable to put a limit on the number of rounds a person can chamber or clip when posing a threat to our children or the public at large.
Too long we have let two fund-raising leaders block meaningful,civilized gun regulations.
Their primary objectives are to promote more gun sales and protect their million-dollar-per-year salaries, with emphasis on the latter. Their solution is always more guns in public places. Can you imagine multiple people firing in a crowded theater? Even the Army doesn’t allow trained soldiers to carry loaded weapons on post.
I challenge our legislators and judicial branches to make meaningful changes. All they have to do is arrange a few words, which already exist, on a piece of paper. They do not have to find a cure for cancer or develop a plan for world peace.
During my career as an engineer, I observed two types of minds. One which can find a number of ways to accomplish an objective, and the other is one that can express a number of reasons why something cannot be accomplished. We need the types that can find a way to make meaningful changes. If not, maybe a second grade teacher and their class somewhere will accomplish this for them.
Frank Howell
Columbus
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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