Originally published on February 23, 2016

 

I have a thing about guns.

I’m talking about handguns, machine guns, automatic guns.  Ordinary citizens walking around with concealed pistols.  Have we become so afraid of our neighbors and the general public that people feel the need to arm themselves?

Land of the free?

We’re not free if we have to live our lives wondering who has a pistol and if we’ll be shot at.  Scary.

In the USA, 74 school shootings since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012.  Most of the perpetrators are troubled young people.  Scary.

Daily, we hear of random shootings by persons who have a grudge, hear voices telling them to kill, or shooting just to get a high.

In Chapel Hill, a most desirable place to live, we’ve had our share of tragedies.

Seems to be that gun control is out of control.

And instances of shootings by disturbed, unbalanced people are publicized constantly.

If we don’t want gun crimes to escalate, the government must tighten the gaps on gun control laws.  So, guns are not readily available to the general public.  Then, they should cut down on buying arms and use that money instead to initiate programs for the mentally and troubled youth.

Did the right to bear arms really mean for innocent people to die at the hands of those who should never have access to guns?

It’s tragic to see the lives of children and young people at the brink of their adulthood being cut down all too short and depriving them of the chance to have a life.

— Jane Salemson

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