Stop the Violence

It seems the more horrible shootings occur in this country the quicker we are to point fingers. Politicians continually promise to come together only to retreat to their own talking points. People keep asking the same questions and we get little answers. When are we going to come back together to solve this problem? Not anytime soon. People say they offer "common sense solutions" to these problems but nobody ever agrees on the definition of common sense so we just keep spinning in circles.

My defense of the Second Amendment is based on my true belief that without it, all the others will fall away. I have never did or never will own a gun, but know people whop do. I unfortunately know someone who was murdered by a gun. You would think my views would change, here's why that's not the case.. An "assault rifle" wasn't used, it was a handgun. Secondly I am a firm believer of good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns. It amazes me the people who bemoan police violence are the same people who only want them to have guns.   Also many of so-called "privacy advocates" seem to endorse stricter background check when purchasing firearms, so much for right to privacy. I am for extensive background checks, however the system needs to be updated.  It needs to reflect common issues about mental health because things change over time. I do believe in re-certifying gun owners. Police need re certification on there weapons, I think it's not a burden to have gun owners do them same.  I want people who own guns to be mentally stable. Unfortunately this requires more resources.

Here's where I might lose some people. Based on statistics these shootings seemed to increase during President Obama's presidency and have continued to rise. What has also been on the rise? The acces to medication under the Affordable Care   Act. Stay with me. Mental health resources were greatly increased under the ACA, including the access to anti-depressant medication, which does have its downside. There are conflicting studies on whether or not the medications caused the maniac behavior. People claim well the shooter was off medications at the time, it wasn't in his system at the time of the shooting. It's not that simple, these medications change brain chemistry, I am in the camp once something is changed, it is never completely the same. I have personal knowledge of this fact. Also it is widely known that usually these shootings occur when the shooter hhas stopped taking their medication. No I'm not saying every one who had been on medications and stopped becomes a mass shooter, but we need to look at this more closely. People with mental illness have lost their rights to complete privacy

I'm not going to pretend to get in the mind of David Hogg or any other shooting victim or survivor, they should never have been the latest witnesses to such violence. However they don't realized they're being used by the anti-gun lobby. You can accuse me of defending the NRA but you have to ask yourself this question. Why isn't David Hogg saying no to violence on TV or video games? Why if he and his supporters are so against teenage dying, they do something about drugs in schools? They are given talking points to repeat every time they get in front of the camera.  People's minds alter when they witness a tragic event Folks say David Hogg and his friends speaking out are brave, nobody denies it, but they also would serve their cause better if they accept the fact they're being used, and their fifteen minutes of fame are almost up!