Brain Talks Gun Control

I watched the news last night just like most of you did. Another mass shooting, this time on the campus of a community college in Oregon. At least 10 dead, 20 or more injured. Our hearts immediately go out to the families of those involved, and to the community affected. And then the discussion turns to the elephant in the room. Guns. More specifically gun control. It's been made into a political issue, but I don't think it needs to be. Why do you have to be a liberal or a conservative when it comes to guns?

I grew up around guns. My dad had numerous shotguns and rifles in our house and when I was old enough, he taught be how to shoot them. He taught me how to care and be responsible with a gun. I learned to respect them. Now as an adult, I also have guns. They're used for hunting and the occasional target or clay pigeon shooting. I have many friends who have a lot more guns than I do. So to be clear...I have NO problem with people owning guns. Too often, whenever the talk turns to gun control, people say that the government wants to take away their guns. No, they don't. I don't want the government to do that. The second amendment gives us the right to bear arms. But shouldn't all of us, gun owners and those of us who don't own guns, be able to come together and find reasonable common ground on measures to help prevent the wrong PEOPLE from getting guns?

This is the problem with gun control. Extremes. One side thinks the government wants to take away their guns. The other side wants to ban them altogether. People, neither of those scenarios is going to happen. We have to meet in the middle. I like the phrase that the President and others used yesterday in the wake of the shooting in Oregon. 'Common sense' gun control measures. People from both sides of the aisle coming together and getting something done. Maybe it's enforcing current laws or closing loopholes. Or perhaps something new needs to be adopted.

Here is another saying I can't stand hearing. 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people.' Then why are all the people doing the killing using guns? Listen, this is more than just a gun issue. It's a mental health issue. It's a parenting and moral issue. But make no mistake about it. It IS a gun issue too. How many people need to die before we wake up and do something? I know my opinions might be unpopular. I don't care. I want a safer world for my children. We've become numb to the violence. It's time to wake up.