With this shooting tragedy impacting the youngest and most vulnerable among us, we mourn their loss but are aching to do something to prevent further violence like this.
Weapons of mass destruction right here at home need to be kept from the mentally ill. Ammunition magazines with multiple rounds need to be banned.
A 15-round or larger type of gun, "easily available," was used to get off more than 50 or 60 rounds was used in this crime today. Besides making these kinds of guns illegal (my wish) we should stop these crazy huge magazines from being sold at all. They are not used for hunting and they are not "fun." They are too dangerous.
If we did that, and had health care available for those with mental and emotional problems we might escape the escalation of desperation that leads to horrific crimes like these. We have too many of these. One is too many.
Why not take part of the huge budget, say half, from the vast department of Homeland Security, which was created after 9/11 in a fearful, zealous over-reach, and devote that to free mental health care for all who need it.
Talk about homeland security, we would all be safer if those with mental illness or emotional problems were to get care and if those who were identified as violent were identified and kept from buying weapons of mass destruction.
We cannot and should not continue to stick our heads in the sand and ignore the problem of mental illness being untreated and of huge gun rounds being readily available.
We have the resources for decent mental health, for identifying dangerously ill persons who should not have access to weapons. We have political power we could mobilize if only we could get momentum and pressure on our government.
For too long we have ignored the gun and ammunition rounds/"magazine" problems, the lack of enforcement of background checks, and other problematic laws. Just this week I found out that Florida where I reside has the most concealed carriers of guns of any state, about one million! They can carry them in schools! This would be legal in Florida, taking the gun into an elementary school today.
For too long we have ignored the total negligence of our society in dealing with the mentally ill, with lack of resources devoted to mental health care. Who can afford any mental health care if they don't work at a good job with great HC benefits? No one.
Although we cannot eliminate violent tragedies we can do everything we can to make things harder for a person who has emotional or mental problems to carry out such acts of mass destruction.
F*'# the NRA. F*'# the Republican "Fiscal Cliff" non-deficit phonies, and the "Deficit!" Hawks. Let's organize and do it.