GUN CONTROL: Let’s have a Discussion

Tags

2nd Amendment, AR-15, Aurora shootings, fast-furious, Gun Control, Sandy Hook

So, let’s have a conversation, America. We’re in the middle of a big fight in the USA,and it concerns the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution, which reads as above. Most of us realize our President sees our Constitution as a “living” i.e. evolving document. An overwhelming majority of Americans, however, do not see it that way, but as a solid, absolute foundation upon which our nation is built. Problem is, those in agreement with President include 99.9% (conservative estimate) of all journalists/media outlets and celebrities with big mouths and plenty of camera time.

Lies of ‘Sandy Hook’ Please click!

The administration has a history of orchestrating events and “milking” tragedies for his political agenda. Remember, “Fast & Furious?” Remember the Aurora shootings? While I will not go so far as to accuse the President of arranging the “Sandy Hook massacre,” he is most assuredly milking it to further is dream (and goal) of a gun-free America. He has, in fact, rearranged the entire scenario, tampered with evidence, to fit his agenda.

Remember the horror of the “Breaking news” that morning? I do! The initial news report said Lanza used 2 handguns in the event and that an AR-15 “Bushmaster” was found in the shooter’s car. Just 2 days later, that scenario had been rearranged saying the AR-15 was found beside the victim’s body. It is now believed, they say, that the Bushmaster was the primary weapon used in the tragedy. Well … which is it? The result of this obvious and blatant manipulation of the facts is a media BLITZ attack on our 2nd Amendment rights to “keep and bear arms.”

Here’s one with a wood grain stock. Looks more like a hunting weapon, right?

This is a “breast cancer” support weapon with a sponsored logo!

Just for the sake or argument, the same weapon found initially in the shooter’s car in Newtown, Connecticut can look ominous painted black, but it can also be painted other ways to make it appear less threatening. Bottom line is that ALL firearms are assault weapons, and the definition used in legislation is solely at the discretion of the author of the bill. How reasonable is it, though, for someone like Senator Feinstein to hold a concealed carry permit & carry her gun while she proposes a ban on the rest of the American people?

Similarly, there have been several news items posted in recent weeks extolling the benefits of an armed population.

• 15-YEAR OLD BOY USES AR-15 TO DEFEND HIMSELF, SISTER AGAINST HOME INVADERS
• DESPITE NATIONAL TRAGEDY, TRUTH IS, GUNS SAVE LIVES
• Father of Aurora shooting victim speaks on gun control
• Robber Armed With Cattle Prod (Yeah a Cattle Prod) Stopped by Store Clerk With Gun
• GA Homeowner Uses Derringer to Disarm Shotgun Wielding Burglar, Then Shoots Burglar With Own Shotgun

There are plenty of statistics that demonstrate many other items much more dangerous that any type of firearm. Still, the administration is locked and loaded toward the disarming of the American people in open and obvious contradiction to the US Constitution. Shall we put a ban on tobacco products or re-institute “Prohibition?” Shall we ban automobiles? Obviously, the answer is NO!

This adminstration is working overtime to install a”dumbed down” approach to life in America. President Obama believes, and he wants US to believe the American people are not smart enough to rule ourselves, even though we have done so successfully for more than 200 years. This is the whole “nanny state” mentality that he is encouraging in his “food stamps” push toward Seniors, repeated extensions for unemployment, and his lack of success in job creation. He doesn’t WANT to create jobs, America! He isn’t even trying to create jobs. We aren’t responsible enough to own and operate firearms, so he must take them from us one way or another.

The US Constitution contradicts this policy vehemently, and so do the majority of American citizens – both Democrat and Republican! So … TAKE A STAND!

Just for the sake of argument, though, what do you think of the ideas in this graphic? Cars are regulated by state governments, according to state laws and oversight. Might firearms be managed likewise? Would it be an infringement of our 2nd Amendment rights to regulate firearms in this way? You tell me! Let’s have a REAL DISCUSSION here, America!

Thinking the Unthinkable: Another Side of the Story

Tags

ADHD, Aurora, Autism spectrum, Columbine, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, mental illness, Oppositional Defiant, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech

GUNS are not the issue that needs to be addressed! MENTAL ILLNESS is! The statistics are overwhelming. The numbers of mentally ill Americans is rapidly increasing, and whether it is that diagnostic techniques are better or our culture is sicker is not the point of this article. Disposition of those affected is!

Thinking the Unthinkable

In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

Three days before 20 year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother, then opened fire on a classroom full of Connecticut kindergartners, my 13-year old son Michael (name changed) missed his bus because he was wearing the wrong color pants.

“I can wear these pants,” he said, his tone increasingly belligerent, the black-hole pupils of his eyes swallowing the blue irises.

“They are navy blue,” I told him. “Your school’s dress code says black or khaki pants only.”

“They told me I could wear these,” he insisted. “You’re a stupid bitch. I can wear whatever pants I want to. This is America. I have rights!”

“You can’t wear whatever pants you want to,” I said, my tone affable, reasonable. “And you definitely cannot call me a stupid bitch. You’re grounded from electronics for the rest of the day. Now get in the car, and I will take you to school.”

I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.

A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me.

That conflict ended with three burly police officers and a paramedic wrestling my son onto a gurney for an expensive ambulance ride to the local emergency room. The mental hospital didn’t have any beds that day, and Michael calmed down nicely in the ER, so they sent us home with a prescription for Zyprexa and a follow-up visit with a local pediatric psychiatrist.

We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.

At the start of seventh grade, Michael was accepted to an accelerated program for highly gifted math and science students. His IQ is off the charts. When he’s in a good mood, he will gladly bend your ear on subjects ranging from Greek mythology to the differences between Einsteinian and Newtonian physics to Doctor Who. He’s in a good mood most of the time. But when he’s not, watch out. And it’s impossible to predict what will set him off.

Several weeks into his new junior high school, Michael began exhibiting increasingly odd and threatening behaviors at school. We decided to transfer him to the district’s most restrictive behavioral program, a contained school environment where children who can’t function in normal classrooms can access their right to free public babysitting from 7:30-1:50 Monday through Friday until they turn 18.

The morning of the pants incident, Michael continued to argue with me on the drive. He would occasionally apologize and seem remorseful. Right before we turned into his school parking lot, he said, “Look, Mom, I’m really sorry. Can I have video games back today?”

“No way,” I told him. “You cannot act the way you acted this morning and think you can get your electronic privileges back that quickly.”

His face turned cold, and his eyes were full of calculated rage. “Then I’m going to kill myself,” he said. “I’m going to jump out of this car right now and kill myself.”

That was it. After the knife incident, I told him that if he ever said those words again, I would take him straight to the mental hospital, no ifs, ands, or buts. I did not respond, except to pull the car into the opposite lane, turning left instead of right.

“Where are you taking me?” he said, suddenly worried. “Where are we going?”

“You know where we are going,” I replied.

“No! You can’t do that to me! You’re sending me to hell! You’re sending me straight to hell!”

I pulled up in front of the hospital, frantically waiving for one of the clinicians who happened to be standing outside. “Call the police,” I said. “Hurry.”

Michael was in a full-blown fit by then, screaming and hitting. I hugged him close so he couldn’t escape from the car. He bit me several times and repeatedly jabbed his elbows into my rib cage. I’m still stronger than he is, but I won’t be for much longer.

The police came quickly and carried my son screaming and kicking into the bowels of the hospital. I started to shake, and tears filled my eyes as I filled out the paperwork—“Were there any difficulties with….at what age did your child….were there any problems with…has your child ever experienced…does your child have….”

At least we have health insurance now. I recently accepted a position with a local college, giving up my freelance career because when you have a kid like this, you need benefits. You’ll do anything for benefits. No individual insurance plan will cover this kind of thing.

For days, my son insisted that I was lying—that I made the whole thing up so that I could get rid of him. The first day, when I called to check up on him, he said, “I hate you. And I’m going to get my revenge as soon as I get out of here.”

By day three, he was my calm, sweet boy again, all apologies and promises to get better. I’ve heard those promises for years. I don’t believe them anymore.

On the intake form, under the question, “What are your expectations for treatment?” I wrote, “I need help.”

And I do. This problem is too big for me to handle on my own. Sometimes there are no good options. So you just pray for grace and trust that in hindsight, it will all make sense.



In 2009, 1,224 soldiers with a mental illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, received a medical discharge. That was an increase from 745 soldiers in 2005 or about 7% of medical discharges that year, according to personnel statistics provided to USA TODAY.

I am sharing this story because I am Adam Lanza’s mother. I am Dylan Klebold’s and Eric Harris’s mother. I am Jason Holmes’s mother. I am Jared Loughner’s mother. I am Seung-Hui Cho’s mother. And these boys—and their mothers—need help. In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.

According to Mother Jones, since 1982, 61 mass murders involving firearms have occurred throughout the country. Of these, 43 of the killers were white males, and only one was a woman. Mother Jones focused on whether the killers obtained their guns legally (most did). But this highly visible sign of mental illness should lead us to consider how many people in the U.S. live in fear, like I do.

PLEASE READ MORE

The links below are not necessarily positions I endorse, but they raise important questions about mental illness and the care of those affected. The subject has been TABOO long enough – too long, and the longer we, as a society, refuse to deal with it, the more tragedies like Virginia Tech, like Columbine, like Aurora, and like Sandy Hook we will endure. Can we be “grownups” long enough to deal with mental illness as the epidemic it is yet, or must more suffer?

Additional Reading:

Mental Health Care Benefits Under Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

Mental illness costing military soldiers

The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America

Epidemic? Half of US teens ‘meet criteria for mental disorder’

DRUGS R US

Jeff Gerritt: Deinstitutionalizing Michigan’s mentally ill has been an underfunded disaster

The Neglect of Mental Illness Exacts a Huge Toll, Human and Economic