Too Much Gun Violence

It’s been a while since I’ve last blogged, more than a year in fact, but I have noticed a disturbing trend as I tune in to various media: The shooting of police officers. It must stop.

Recently, the lovely Roaring Fork Valley, which includes, Aspen, Colorado, was plagued by a gun shooter and a police officer was seriously injured. As might be expected the shooter committed suicide just as he was to be caught. This story, I find particularly disturbing because of the laid-back nature of these communites in the Valley. For the most part, people are just so delightful and peaceful in this area of the country. Even in pastoral New Hampshire, police officers have been killed.

The point I’m trying make is: If you know someone with a gun who has emotional problems (I know something about emotional problems. 😉 ) or other serious problems, then ask them to please turn in their guns to the police or some other appropriate organization. The notion of an illegal alien with a gun shooting a police officer is also rather disturbing, since we don’t know who they are or from whence they came into the country.

But mostly, that’s not the problem. The problem is too many guns in the hands of people who don’t have the wherewithal to use them responsibly, and this is also reflected in the recent rash of school shootings.

Personally I haven’t shot a gun (well, maybe a BB-gun when I was 12), and I don’t intend to. I believe all problems can be worked out through effective communications and resolutions. Like William Penn and the Quakers in America and the Indians, they never (or very rarely) resorted to violence because they engaged in progressive discourse. The Puritans (my ancestors) were a different story. We should all be advancing these concepts today; that is, to engage in discourse until conflicts are resolved, because the other way is the path to destruction.

This topic has been on my mind for month’s. Fox Butterfield of The New York Times (Web site requires registration), who happens to be my third cousin (although I’ve never met him, I respect him) has written extensively on the subject of gun control and gun violence. His most recent article focuses on rural suicides via gun, but he has written extensively on the subject of gun control across the board. (See article: “State Sees Instant Results in Electronic Gun Checks.”

We need sensible gun control. We need to reach out to those people who own guns, tell them they are all blessed children of the Higher Power (should they choose to be), that they are loved, and then consider whether or not they are stable enough to own weapons, guns in particular. If not, then perhaps they should be subject to a review board before catastrophy happens.

I like cops. Cops may have saved my life (I’m not sure — I was sleep-walking unconcious after making a big mistake with my meds), but I’ve been treated well by the police, in general. We all need to be on guard to make sure that they too are protected as they work to protect us. Let’s watch out for the emotionally disturbed and check on them, especially if they are armed, and make sure they don’t commit a lethal act.

I will never own guns. But I have a can of Mace, as most journalists should have, so step back … please. (Hunter Thompson gave me the idea and after covering a riot I was glad to have it. … I’ve never used it, though.) You may knock on my door or ring my doorbell anytime before 9:00 PM and after 9:00 AM, but your intentions must be very good (i.e. no mischief please … You might just get peppered!)

Peace out to all of you.