Guns for Crazy People

After hearing about what just happened in Suthurland Springs Texas (which is only about one hour from my parents home), I am pretty damned upset. I  had to check to make sure none of my relatives were there. It's hitting, as they say, "way too close to home!". I feel sickened by the fact that so many children died. That ANYBODY died. When something like this happens, you feel terible. But when it happens very close to home, you change your thinking. I know that's not right, but it sometimes takes something to hit too close to make people think differently.

Then I heard that the killer was an escaped mental patient, getting away in 2012, and that he had already threatened to kill before. Why did they not hunt hin down? I know it's not easy at all to track down a deranged person who is trying hard not to be found, but, come on!, the guy was a serious threat to society, and should have been hunted until found. It may have prevented this from happening.

It already hurts that it happened in my home state, with so many innocent people dead, in, what seems to me, is a dereliction of duty on someones part. I went through the pictures of the deceased posted on line. It was not easy, as I thought at any time I would recognize someone I knew. I actually did recognize one of them, but I only knew his face. I did not know him well at all. I kept thinking it could have easily been some of my family members if he had chosen another church. Killing anyone is bad enough, but attacking people in a CHURCH! That's really low and crazy. We all know where he is headed!

Now the gun control people are all going crazy, and I really can't blame them much. I am not into gun control myself, but when things happen like this, you have to reconsider your stance. They need to make new laws against selling certain types of weapons. I know most people would want to outlaw ALL guns completely, But that would lead to a lot more crime, and a lot bigger black market. Automatic weapons should be totally banned for sale to the public. No one needs an AK-47 to protect their home. It's overkill. If that is too much to ask, then people should have to undergo rigorous training and documentation to own one. That would stop a huge amount of sales.

But I talked alot about this already. I told you my ideas were better than the laws they have now. I said all this BEFORE this incident happened. How does a mentally unstable person, nuch less an escapee, get a hold of weapons like he used? Did someone sell them to him? I hope he didn't get it from a gun store, because that store should be closed down. Did he buy them from another individual? They need to track that person down. Did he own them previously? I sure hope they didn't leave those kinds of weapons in his home when he was committed! Is someone actually asking for these type of things to happen? It seems a lot of people are not taking their jobs very seriously. I am anxious to see what their conclusions are. What will they come up with?

I have to admit that guns, especially the auto's, are much too easy to get. They need to make much stricter rules on them, as well as keeping track better. Many people want these weapons in their possession for personal safety reasons. As their neighbors buy bigger guns to combat crime, they then also want a bigger gun. And it keeps getting bigger. It keeps growing to where they have small arsenals of weapons in their home. This does not really make them much safer; it makes them more of a target for theft.

All you need to defend your home with is a heavy revolver or automatic pistol, since sometimes one shot will not stop an assailant. Then you need a shotgun. There is no more persuasive gun made to stop intruders than a shotgun. That's it! You don't need ten guns in your house since you can only fire one at a time anyway.

Lawmakers have to find a way right now to stop the sale of certain weapons, but not all of them. Let's be real. I don't believe that owning guns will go away completely. It violates the constitution. But, while a handgun can still certainly kill people, it will cause much less damage than an automatice weapon that is spewing out thousands of rounds. This is only common sense. NO automatic weapons of any kind should be allow ANYWHERE in public places. It makes people nervous, as it well should. You don't know this guy, or what he is thinking, or if he got pissed off just a little while ago. How can you take your children to the grocery store, knowing that anyone can walk in with a gun. How can you feel safe?  I know guns very well; much , much better than the average guy, but if I see someone walk in carrying a gun, all my attention is going to be on him. Instead of feeling relaxed and going about my business, I will be uptight, nervous, and on-edge. I will go into the "fight or flight" thing. I will want to leave, or I will be ready to try to take him down. If he is carrying a gun in a holster, then it is hard to tell if he is an official or just a plain old guy. If he reaches for that holster close to me, I will put him on the ground. If I am wrong, then it's better to be safe than sorry.

I know that law enforcement is underpaid for the job they do. Anyone who could be shot at or attacked at any given time should be paid accordingly for their risk. They do a job that most of you do not want to do. Just like the military. I think their salary should be raised at least one third higher than it is now. And that's at a minimum. Why would anyone WANT to be a police officer at low pay, and take such high risks, when they could easily make more as a plumber? Why do I say all this? We NEED more police officers, especially the kind that can be assigned a case just like this one, track the suspect down, and put him away. We need to increase the number of personnel that can be trained to do nothing but gather info, hunt down these types that are known, and put them away. If you asked a policeman there how this was allowed to happen, they most assuredly would say that they either did not know about him or they don't have enough manpower to track them down. We need to make sure they do. It's our job as the "people" to ensure they have what they need to do their job, which is to protect US!