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. junction:

    In the dark ages when I attended Prince George High School (Va), I routinely (along with many of my friends) brought shotguns onto school grounds after deer hunting all morning. There were no incidents of violence. The guns were usually visible in gun racks in the pickup trucks. Had anyone with a mindset like Lanza’s ventured onto the campus he would have in short order been confronted with a well-armed, if unregulated, militia. Country folks can aim straight.

    1. Mark – The perfect segue for some Hank, Jr., “A Country Boy Can Survive,” but folks might still be a little tender toward his Obama stance.

  2. mespo,

    Funny you should mention that. I was just talking to OS’s son about that as an alternative to arming teachers. We were of the consensus it’s a good idea.

  3. Would anyone object to trained armed security at publicly accessed school entrances as we have at other public buildings? We do this for judges and lawmakers.

    1. mespo727272 build on fear build for war. Don’t people know that? People that build on fear are controlled by a devil. The only thing they know is fear. Why let people be controlled by devils? Devils have a dead soul. Allow one in you will kill your soul before your body dies. A person that wants to kill already has a dead soul that will perish with the body.

  5. Elaine – (1) When your state motto is “Sic semper tyrannis,” and (2) once you get outside I-495, McConnell’s position is within his electorate’s comfort zone (carpetbaggers excluded). And unless Johnny’s a little turd during the school year; during hunting season, the average rural Virginia high school student parking lot is second only to the local National Guard Armory in firepower. I know PA used to just say, “To heck with it,” and made the first day of deer hunting a teacher professional day.

  6. “Government cannot create a world without risks, nor would we really wish to live in such a fictional place. Only a totalitarian society would even claim absolute safety as a worthy ideal, because it would require total state control over its citizens’ lives. Liberty has meaning only if we still believe in it when terrible things happen and a false government security blanket beckons.”

    -Ron Paul

    http://www.paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1994:security-and-self-goverance&catid=64:2012-texas-straight-talk&Itemid=69

  7. “the high visibility of these tragedies skews people’s perceptions about risks. I think the risk of this kind of tragedy is already so low that it’s 1) hard to lower the risk even more, and 2) hard to justify lowering this risk relative to many other risks we could be lowering.

    …

    We should always strive to continue to reduce all risks of death, especially the preventable risks of other humans, wherever possible. But the risks will always exist. If your chance of dying in a mass shooting is 0.000003% and your chance of dying in a car accident is 0.9%, with a whole lot of other risks in between, I think it’s reasonable to ask if there aren’t a lot of easier and more effective ways to try to use the government’s limited resources to save lives than trying even harder to prevent the next shooting tragedy than we already are.”

    http://www.postlibertarian.com/2012/07/perspectives-in-gun-shootings-and-other-risks/

    1. Bob,Esq:you save people from being killed buy having people save their soul by being like Jesus is. Eternity starts now not latter. Today is when the foundation is built not when God comes back in glory. People have to be taught to act like they are in heaven now to be ready for it latter. Religions do not teach that.

  8. Poor McDonnell

    Some pro-gun folk realize they are dealing with a Katrina and then there are the McDonnells of the movement who just keep having their “attaboy Bownie” moments.

  10. Virginia Governor McDonnell Wants More Guns In Schools
    By Josh Israel
    Dec 18, 2012
    http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/12/18/1355941/virginia-governor-mcdonnell-wants-more-guns-in-schools/

    Excerpt:
    Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) became the latest anti-gun control figure to embrace the notion that the best way to protect against future tragedies like Newtown, Connecticut, is to put more guns in public schools. In his monthly “Ask the Governor” segment on WTOP radio, McDonnell endorsed the idea of arming adults in schools.

    Asked about allowing school officials to have guns, McDonnell said it is a “discussion that is probably timely.” He explained:

    McDONNELL: I know there has been a knee-jerk reaction against that, I think there should at least be a discussion of that. If people were armed, not just a police officer, but other school officials who were trained and chose to have a weapon, certainly there would be an opportunity to stop aggressors trying to come into the school, so I think that’s a reasonable discussion that ought to be had.

  11. Blouise, II is not going to happen fast enough for me…… but realistically it will be late summer or early fall. Still have plenty of work to do on the house.

  12. SwM,

    PP also has local support chapters all over the place up here (North) so you can make an active difference.

    There are certain issues I will just talk about but then there are others that demand more than just talk … it’s good to be active … I know you agree.

  19. SwM,

    Once you are up here you will be able to more fully engage with efforts to bring about change on whatever issue strikes your fancy.

    I had any number of choices offered and invitations extended over the last couple days regarding constructive actions to be taken in regards to this latest mass murder. I choose a group organized by former Prosecutors and other lawyers from around the state who in turn are connected to other, similar groups across state lines. It was a most informative meeting with little time wasted on pleasantries and surprisingly, considering the number of trial attys. present, no talking just to hear oneself speak.

    At any rate … excellent plans made with an eye towards not only the legal issues involved but the time frame. These people are committed for the long haul and they are a good mix of cold calculation and sincere compassion. They speak my language.

  20. Shall we have a reign of Terror, a la Bastille?

    I don’t mind being sprayed with a little Dissident Party blood. So let me have the first pass at the guillotine. Just joking of course.

    With half the population gone, who would run our sweat shops, who would have money to tax, who would establish a republican democracy for us.

    Any ideas?

    Of course, you could immigrate to Sweden, then it would be tight as Holland here. But bring your own snowshovels and flashlights.
    And be prepared for the girls taking it off , sunning in Spring.

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