The violence we see spreading from shopping malls in Oregon, to movie theaters in Colorado, to college campuses in Virginia, to elementary schools in Connecticut, is being spawned by the toxic view of a violent popular culture, a growing mental health crisis and the proliferation of combat-style weapons.
There are alot of us that are for stricter gun controls but also know we have a second amendment right to bear arms that we cannot afford to give away, so where do we go from here. Some believe we should ban assault weapons. Some think a limit on the number of rounds people can purchase.
This morning I put myself in the shoes of a Congressman and thought to myself, if I had the power to change things, what policies would instill into a bill. What I came up with was that if even just the principle had a concealed weapon, then things would have ended better.
After Columbine, we installed better security measures. We taught teachers how to identify situations and keep students safe. Teachers had to learn to counsel student victims of bullying to prevent volatile situations and how to handle naturally occuring disasters. Now, in the wake of a tragedy we have never seen before, we should train teachers in another important aspect of a quickly failing society.
To shoot to kill. Along with a college degree and a clean criminal record, teachers should have a CHL(Concealed Handgun License) and a handgun locked in a safe in their desks I think violence in schools would cease.
Sure, violence will always arise in places because of the dramatization of violence and guns in music, movies, and art, but Lanza and the Trench Coat Mafia, would have thought better of walking into a school to massacre children when 100 school staff is packing protection.
When it comes to mental health issues in people, this is complicated, we’ve got to find a way to create a society in which those closest to people in trouble, mentally, acknowledge that and help them secure assistance.
As for violence in the entertainment and video game industry, I think we really do have to reopen the conversation and go back and ask ourselves, is there more we can do?
SnStarr Productions 