[Magdalen] Florida school shootings

[Scott Knitter]

I agree. There's a sort of national insanity about guns, going far beyond
getting one for hunting or even personal protection in situations that are
actually dangerous to life and limb. For many, being able to have a gun is
an integral part of being an American, and the Second Amendment to our
Constitution is regarded with far more reverence than it could ever have
been intended to receive.

And there are a great many of us who are appalled at what this national
obsession has turned into. Yes, it's the people who use the guns as tools
of murder, but it's also the very easy availability of the guns in the
first place. I recently saw a video of a young man going into a gun store
and being able to get an assault rifle in five minutes.

Why can't we do a mandatory buyback like Australia did, or achieve low
shooting rates like Canada or any number of other countries? For many, the
answer is this is America, and we've got this blessed, holy thing called
the Second Amendment, so being able to get a gun is an almost God-given
right.

I hasten to add that we're not all walking around brandishing firearms.
Maybe soon we will if the dystopia takes over fully. But the results of the
proliferation of guns are far too clear when they do appear, as we've
recently seen again and again. At the very least, gun sales need to be far
more regulated and monitored, with strict licensing and background checks,
not to mention bans on assault weapons. We do need to join the world on
this.

On Thu, Feb 22, 2018 at 7:27 AM, Michael Bishop <rev at michaelbishop.name>
wrote:

> I heard with horror of the latest school shooting. That is awful - and
> prayers go out to all those who this has touched.
>
> What I find more horrifying is the reaction of President Trump when he
> said at a meeting with people affected by such shootings that teachers
> should be trained to have and be able to use concealed guns in school.
>
> Of course as I am British, I fail to understand the US government and NRA
> insistence on the right to bear arms. I have never handled a firearm of any
> sort and have never had a desire to do so. Yes, I have countersigned
> applications from my former parishioners to be licensed to hold firearms -
> almost entirely in connection with their farming activities. (Incidentally,
> I am mystified that British law allows me as a minister of religion to
> countersign applications for a firearms certificate, but does not allow me
> to countersign a passport application  because I have n o passport and the
> countersignatory for a passport has to give her/her passport number.
>
> I hope and pray that somehow the US finds a way of controlling possession
> of firearms more sensibly.
>
> --
> God bless
>
> .....
> .....
> Michael Bishop
> rev at michaelbishop.name
>
>


-- 
Scott R. Knitter
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA