Criminal law, Politics, Society

Send God, Guns, and Money: Sandy Hook Shooting Becomes Rallying Point For Political Advocates

praying_hands[1]300px-M4-TransparentThe murder of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary has spawned an array of commentary from calls for new gun controls to greater funding for mental illness in the United States. However, Fox commentator and former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said that the shooting was not surprising after the removal of prayer from public schools. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Republican from Texas, did one better, he wished God ensured that Principal says Dawn Hochsprung had an M-4 assault rifle at the school before she was killed.

Gohmert told Fox News “I wish to God she had an M-4 in her office locked up so when she heard gunfire she pulls it out and she didn’t have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands but she takes him out, takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids.” Wouldn’t it be a bit more direct to pray that God had stopped Lanza from going to the school or that he was institutionalized before his mass murder?

If school teachers are now to be armed, wouldn’t the teachers have to carry around their assault rifles at all time since they would not know when an attack would occur? Indeed, given the low likelihood of such an attack, should they also be equipped with ebola-medical kits, rabies treatment packs, floatation devices, and other equipment for more likely threats. The average soldier, after all, carries as much as 135 pounds depending on their unit. Should our teachers carry less to protect our children?

As for prayer, is that what caused Lanza (with a history of mental illness) to kill? Lack of school prayer. His first murder was at home. After shooting his mother in the face, would Lanza have hesitated at the schoolhouse gate because he recalled morning prayers in civics class? By the way, those terrorists we read about daily do a lot of praying. It does not seem to have the same impact on them.

Putting aside the desire to try a tragedy to a favorite cause, there is often a search for meaning in tragedies. The most frightening thought is that such a terrible loss would not have meaning. It was an unspeakable crime committed by an unstable person. We are all emotionally shredded by this tragedy. However, we know that this is likely to happen again. Even with gun controls, people will still have guns, which are constitutionally protected. Some will have multiple guns. We do not have to shrug and do nothing. There is a need to better deal with mental illness in this country. It was not that long ago that another unstable young man committed a massacre at Virginia Tech. However, as with gun controls, it is not clear that much would have changed in this case. Lanza’s mother decided to keep him at home and tried to deal with his instability on her own. If a parent keeps a child at home and addresses such problems privately, it is doubtful that new programs would have had any impact.

Nevertheless, I would prefer to discuss expanded mental health programs over assault weapons in schools as a starting point of any reforms.

Source: Hill

310 thoughts on “Send God, Guns, and Money: Sandy Hook Shooting Becomes Rallying Point For Political Advocates”

  1. Blouise:

    You know I owe that piece. I’ll work on it during the holiday break.

    Mark

  2. ‘Buy, sell or give away .50 caliber armor-piercing bullets in Connecticut and you could spend a year in state prison. But using the Internet to pick up a few thousand rounds of 9 mm ammo for your Glock, no problem dude.

    “Neither state nor federal law prohibits online ammunition sales or purchases,” is the conclusion of a new report by the Connecticut Office of Legislative Research.’

    http://www.ct.com/news/advocates/latest-news/nm-ht38nconlineammo-20120911,0,2246759.story

    ‘There is a bill now before Congress that would effectively ban online sale of ammunition —….
    James Holmes, the guy charged with shooting to death 12 people and wounding 58 others, reportedly bought more than 6,000 rounds of ammunition in the weeks leading up to the slaughter.’
    …
    ‘The chances of that anti-Internet-ammo bill passing Congress are close to zero, according to most observers, thanks to the astonishing influence of the National Rifle Association and Republican control of the U.S. House.’

  3. mespo,

    Somewhere on an earlier thread I had mentioned that you had promised said article and not followed through. I had forgotten about your contribution and apologize for that slip.

    I wondered where that bookmark in my Second Amend folder for the Assize of Arms link had come from. Now I remember

  4. Jay S., At least from a historical point of view, such as when the 2nd amendment was written, the militia and what was then the equivilent of the National Guard, State Line Regiments, were two separate entities. I believe the militia code is still in effect “every able-bodied man from 16 to 60.” In the early 1980s Virginia established a volunteer militia to serve when the Guard was deployed elsewhere. This appeared to maintain the separation.

  5. “No question, guns have a deeper hold on the American psyche than in most other parts of the developed world. But gun politics are not as static as we often make them out to be. Heck, as Jill Lepore documented not so long ago, the NRA wasn’t even unflinchingly anti–gun control until the final decades of the 20th century. And as my colleague Nate Cohn has noted, there was the hint of a post-election shift underway on this issue even before the Newtown massacre. Simply put, the Democratic coalition is much less reliant than it was even a decade ago on voters who prioritize gun rights. At the presidential level, the party no longer even competes in states such as West Virginia, Tennessee, and Arkansas, and it has shown that it can win states such as Ohio and Virginia despite very poor showings in their more conservative, rural precincts. The picture is of course murkier downballot—the party’s Senate majority relies on members from rural states such as Montana and North Dakota where resistance to gun control runs higher. But even there, the landscape may already be shifting. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who has an A rating from the NRA and famously fired a rifle at cap-and-trade legislation to signal his independence from the national Democratic agenda, said this morning that he would be willing to reconsider measures like the assault-weapons ban.” TNR blog

  6. Blouise,

    Didn’t you see my earlier post including excerpt and link,?
    idealist7071, December 17, 2012 at 12:43 pm

    Glad that you agree with my assessment.

  7. a wee telling factoid;

    If Ammunition were as well regulated as Sudafed:

    Registry I.D. required after proof of
    Legal limit of sales
    All sales entered into single database
    All sales over legal age limit blocked
    Police investigate when breaches found
    ——-
    Non-Medical Use of Marijuana, Mich:
    Possession of Marijuana, Under Michigan drug laws, Possession of Marijuana in any amount has a maximum penalty of up to 1 year in prison and $2,000 in fines.

    Regulation for Medical marijuana (Michigan):
    $100.00 fee
    Doctors prescription
    Legal limit of amount in possession
    ID w/picture after photographic identification of both the qualifying patient and the patient’s primary caregiverapproved.
    Any person who has been convicted of a felony involving illegal drugs shall not serve as a qualifying patient’s primary caregiver under the act.
    ——-

    Regulations for Driving a car [Mich]:

    At 14 years, 8 months a student can enroll in Segment 1 of a driver education program at an approved school
    such as Top Driver.
    n Segment 1 driver education includes:
    p 24 hours of classroom instruction.
    p 6 hours of private behind-the-wheel instruction.
    p 4 hours behind-the-wheel observation.
    p Scoring at least 70% on a written state test administered by an approved driver education school
    such as Top Driver.
    n The student will receive a Green Segment 1 Certificate of Completion after successfully completing the course.
    2. LEARNER’S LICENSE – LEVEL 1
    To receive a Level 1 License, a student must be 14 years, 9 months and obtain a Level 1 License application.
    n To obtain a Level 1 License application bring all of the following to a branch office of the Secretary of State:
    p Green Segment 1 Certificate of Completion.
    p Certified copy of a birth certificate (not a hospital certificate).
    p A completed Level 1 License application signed by a parent or guardian.
    p A letter granting permission signed by a parent or guardian.
    p A Social Security card.
    p Student must also pass a vision test and meet minimum physical and mental standards.
    OTHER FACTS
    n A student may only drive with a licensed parent/guardian or a designated adult 21 years of age or older.
    n Parent/guardian/designated adult must sit in the front seat.
    n If driving with a designated adult, the student should carry a signed letter of authorization from parent/guardian.
    n There is no fee for a Level 1 License.
    n We recommend obtaining a Road Skills Test Study Guide at the Secretary of State office.

    1. “a wee telling factoid;
      If Ammunition were as well regulated as Sudafed:”

      But Woosty all those things Americans can live without…..we’re talking essentials here……firepower and more of it.

  9. The politician who says that all would be well if the Principal had an automatic weapon is not looking at the picture here. A Teacher had these automatic weapons at home and kiddo stole them, killed his mommy teacher and went to school and got his revenge for bad grades back when he was in grade school. Arming teachers and principals might be a good measure but dont let them take the guns home with them. Sonny Boy might turn out to be SonnyBoy Floyd.

  10. As we’ve discussed here, firearms are as American as apple pie. In fact, the citizen’s right to keep and bear arms goes back to the 10th Century at least among the English speaking peoples.

    See http://jonathanturley.org/2011/01/16/their-rights-as-englishmen-a-brief-history-of-the-second-amendment-part-i/.

    Some would say the Kentucky Flintlock Long Rifle gained our freedom and the Springfield Rifled Musket preserved it. Guns are not going to be outlawed nor should they since they serve the vital role of self-protection. Controls on assault weapons, ammunition, and magazine capacity seem reasonable along with federal registration and education requirements. We do as much for cars, after all.

    As Gene H said on another thread, we need to resist the desire to emotionalize every tragedy with cries of “We must do something” while still smarting from the searing heat of the moment. Rights get lost that way. 9/11 proved that point.

    Something we will do … but with cooler heads.

  11. “Lanza’s mother decided to keep him at home and tried to deal with his instability on her own.”

    Yes– by giving him shooting lessons and access to half a dozen guns and a thousand rounds of ammo.

    Sadly, you can’t legislate away stupidity.

  14. Juris – small quibble with your stating ” I agree that the focus on the gun laws is, for the most part, misplaced ” . That’s not what the Professor said. He said:

    “I would prefer to discuss expanded mental health programs over assault weapons in schools as a starting point of any reforms”

    I agree with the assessment that the media hasn’t acquitted itself well, as I said on another thread. That comment was made in response to someone alleging that commenters here are insensitive to the US government killing many little children with drones. The media does not seem particularly moved by that. Of course the government is positively in denial.

  15. ” From the article: “Nevertheless, I would prefer to discuss expanded mental health programs over assault weapons in schools as a starting point of any reforms.”

    Can we please stop pretending that we have to choose one position over the other. WE NEED BOTH APPROACHES:

    1. Ban assault weapons AND
    2. Improved mental health services.

  17. @ JusticeHolmes, I’m not sure what your game plan is by continually denying that this is a Constitutional right to bear arms outside the context of a well regulated militia. I get saying the Supreme Court got it wrong and should reverse itself or that the Constitution should be amended or even if there’s a right, that doesn’t preclude reasonable restrictions. But, it’s a fact that the Court found there was an individual right under the Second Amendment. Ignoring that fact won’t do gun control advocates any good.

  19. And I still think that the “well-regulated militia” part of the Second Amendment actually means something, and ought not to be dismissed as irrelevant, as our SC has done. As far as I’m concerned, if you want to have a firearm, you need to be in the militia, i.e., the National Guard.

  20. Mike,
    You remain eloquent in your sadness and rage.

    We should all remain enraged by the violent mind-set of our society.

    It’s unbelievable that we need to argue about whether civilians should possess weapons of mass murder.
    It’s a no-brainer, but our insanity blinds us. Hence the calls for more guns to counteract gun violence.

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