A national policy for gun and ammunition control already exists.  It simply has not been enforced by our government...like our immigration laws.  In fact, I read recently that the government has "lost" the records of guns sold and licensed to ex-criminals.  Reactivate the law concerning the sale of high-powered military-type assault weapons and ammunition.  But do not lose sight of the population's Constitutional right to bear arms to defend itself against a hostile government if it became necessary to save ourselves, our Republic, our Constitution or our guaranteed rights. 

If my children were still school-aged, I would pull them out of a school in which teachers were authorized to have guns in the schoolroom and use them if they felt it was necessary.  Teachers are there to teach; children are there to learn.  Neither should have their ability to do so impaired because of fear of criminal intrusion in the building.

Guns are not the problem insofar as our schools are concerned.  Access is the problem.  Why not require that schools be constructed to withstand the force of a category 5 tornado or hurricane that is so expansive and powerful as to stretch inland to reach major population areas, and require that SRO's be assigned inside to control major disruptions generated from inside as well as outside for recess or sports events during school hours.  Schools are alerted about oncoming powerful weather events and could be used for community shelters if they were constructed with such safety and security requirements in place. 

As for outside threats, it is not asking too much for SRO's to monitor continuously what is going on outside the building to alert local law enforcement of the unauthorized presence of someone suspicious on campus.  The responsibility for carrying and decision making concerning using firearms belongs to law enforcement as a part of government's responsibilities for our guaranteed protections under our Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Make them do their jobs...at all levels of government...and stop playing politics with our security.  Taxpayers' money has always been provided for safe, secure educational facilities for our children.

The fact that governments have allowed criminals to run unchallenged on the streets, or disembark from a plane, or travel on our highways with a load of drugs, is a threat to the entire population...not only to our children.  It has become a threat because it grew too fast for law enforcement to keep up with it.  Anyone with knowledge of a person with an apparent mental or psychological disorder that fosters aggression toward others, especially if that person has access to firearms, should make that known to a responsible party...and that includes the parents.  I do not know about others, but it seems to me that we have more shootings now than we did before the gang task force was formed.  It is every citizen's responsibility to report criminal activity and knowledge of those involved in criminal activity to protect the safety and security of all of us and assist law enforcement in doing its job. 

As for illegal immigration, that problem exists in our face every day because government has failed to do its job and enforce the laws on the books as well.  What is this administration about to come up with to excuse itself for that failure?

* * * 

We live in a Republic, ruled by law. It is no secret that many of our most important laws are not enforced. All you have to do is sit in a courtroom and observe how those that are charged to uphold the law give lawbreakers one pass after another.  

My first thought after the most recent school shooting was that schools will have to become more like prisons in order to provide the level of protection we want for our children. I'm
not convinced that one officer can effectively manage the security of a large facility even with the help of electronic devices and and a bank of video monitors.  

At Sandy Hook, the entire incident was over in 15-17 minutes. For an officer to detect, report, and respond to a scenario developing that quickly makes me wonder about the effectiveness of a security program based on one individual. An attacker[s] that employs more complex tactics
could be even harder to neutralize. 

Finally, to think that parents and citizens in general will take responsibility for our general safety is simply a fantasy.  People have the time to video a crime but not to get involved in preventing it. Don't be fooled by the occasional media video of a citizen stopping a crime.  

The unfortunate truth is that a 'free' society can be a deadly society. We want the government to stay out of our lives yet provide total protection at the same time. The general attitude about airport security prove that. 

Security is not a simple fix. Like anything else that we would value, it requires consistent, persistent effort and vigilance.  There is no security 'pill' or APP. Security is not free, it always
involves a price. Sometimes the cost is dollars, sometimes it is the loss of some of our freedom. 

Ted Ladd 

* * *  

Contrary to popular belief, the laws determining what comprised an "assault weapon," it seems cosmetic features are enough to warrant that classification. Considering toy manufacturers make more realistic guns than gun manufacturers, your 10-year-old is next on Obama's hit list (Biden is just taking the heat for Obama - I doubt this plagiarizing poser could come up with an original idea on his own). If you put a carry handle on the top of your LAR (lever action rifle), by the definition your 150-year-old technology rifle just became an assault weapon. Will someone please explain to me how legislators determined that an 11-round magazine make a rifle an assault weapon and a 10-round mag does not. Who arrived at this nebulous delineation? 

The British Commonwealth has suffered over 60 mass murders over the last 100 years where handguns have been banned so long no one remembers when they were banned. Dismal proof that gun control does not stop criminals, only the law-abiding (who soon may no longer have a means to defend themselves against attackers). 

We are currently experiencing the Presidential Two-Step: give reactionaries what they want to keep your party in power, instead of calmly explaining that legislating insanity has never worked nor will it ever. Somewhere down the line, blustering politicians, who a month ago were milk-toast until after the election, have ignored the fact that the majority of deaths caused by handguns is suicide, not homicide; that it is the operator who determines a guns ultimate purpose, not it's appearance; that more individuals are killed every day, every hour, by knives, pillows, poisons and drunk drivers than all the guns in the world put together. Now we can add short-sighted knee-jerk politicians as the next major cause of more innocent deaths. 

David D. Fihn, Sr.
Hixson