The Root of the Problem

I think we’re all still reeling from the shooting rampage in Newtown. Why does this keep happening?? When I worked abroad in London in 1998, I remember being asked if I carried a gun with me at home, since I was an American. I remember being confused every time that question came up. I certainly didn’t know anyone who packed heat at home! This was in 1998, before Virginia Tech, before Aurora, before Portland, before Newtown.

I wholeheartedly agree that the government needs to seriously look at gun control laws. I know it will be a TOUGH battle, thanks to the second amendment.

As people who own guns like to say, it’s not guns that kill people, it’s people. This is key.

Yes, we need more laws. But I believe part of, or maybe the root of, the problem is that there are a lot of mentally ill people not being treated…and too much violence in the media, of course.

We need to stop the stigmatization of mental illness. These shooters are obviously mentally ill. How many signs did their family and friends overlook because they were embarrassed, confused, in denial. Or just plain miss, because they were uninformed.

I don’t want to point the finger at their family and friends…I really don’t. It’s not their fault that mental illness is a taboo topic.

Many of the recent shooters have been in their 20s. Is this where violence in the media comes in? In the ’80s, I was playing Frogger and Pac Man, not god-knows-what-game with guns and blood all over the place.

Five-year-old kids are dead. It’s time to fix this problem.