After Newtown

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown leaves many questions that need to be answered and many issues that need to be addressed. With all the hysteria over such a horrific tragedy, people often make judgments and draw conclusions based on emotions. Instead, we need to focus on finding real solutions. But in order to find these real solutions, the right questions must be asked.

As a teacher, my students and I inevitably spent some time discussing the events at Newtown. This was important, as it is principally the students’ safety which we are entrusted with, not just their education. Therefore, I wanted to get their valuable feedback.

What would make students feel safer?

Surprisingly, despite the outcry for gun control all over the cable news shows, the thing most students said would make them feel safer would be to actually have more guns! Specifically, they thought they would feel safer with at the very least one armed security guard or police officer on campus. We discussed how this person should not be allowed to make direct contact with students unless there was imminent danger, in order to avoid any accidents. In other words, most everyday incidents would still be handled by unarmed security and administrative personnel.

Students also bounced around the idea of having armed teachers. While this may sound far-fetched upon first consideration, I did point out that because teachers are in such close proximity to students, it would be essential to implement some very important safeguards. One of these would be to officially designate and authorize particular teachers, such as former members of the military, law enforcement, or who otherwise have received the proper training, to store a firearm inconspicuously in a safe inside the classroom. Only the administration, school district officials, and law enforcement agencies would know of the weapon’s presence.

Why did this person commit such a terrible crime? How can we help keep something like this from happening in the future?

Again, the students’ responses had very little to do with what the talking heads are blathering about all over TV. There was no mention of gun control, assault weapons bans or otherwise. Students understood that, while the specific details and circumstances may never be known, the man who committed this horrible act obviously suffered from severe mental illness. They compared what happened in Newtown to similar events elsewhere, such as the shootings in Aurora, Arizona, and Virginia Tech. They agreed that in order to avoid similar future occurrences, we need to focus on improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. I pointed out that mental illness is poorly understood and even more poorly treated in this country, not to mention the stigma that’s attached to it in our society. As a result, addressing this complex issue is difficult. My students, in their youthful wisdom, pointed out that none of that is an excuse to not do something. Children do not deserve to die just because the solution is complicated, they said. Amen to that!

What about gun control? What about banning certain types of weapons?

The response to these questions is perhaps the most interesting of all. It involves a story I'd like to share about an avid gun owner named Miguel. He is a loving, devoted, and responsible husband and father who has raised two girls and hosted countless family gatherings and parties with dozens of guests over the years, all while keeping a large cache of weapons in his home. There has never been anything approaching an incident involving guns at Miguel’s house, because he keeps his weapons locked in a safe at all times. Miguel is a healthy and well-adjusted adult. He would never go anywhere and shoot up a crowd. There are thousands, if not millions, of people just like Miguel all across the United States. Any kind of ban on specific weapons is only going to affect people like Miguel and other responsible gun owners without doing much to prevent a mentally ill person from going out and committing mass murder. After all, a mentally ill person who is determined to carry out an act of wanton destruction will simply find whatever means is most convenient, whether it be shooting a gun at school children, driving a car into a crowd of people, or tossing an explosive into a busy restaurant.

Besides, why does the government need to do what the free market is already doing? Major retailers, such as Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, have voluntarily stopped selling weapons similar to the one used in Newtown.

Yes, there is a place for government regulations and restrictions, some already in place, others not yet implemented. Prospective gun buyers should surpass the strictest standards in order to determine whether they are fit to own a firearm. Things such as longer waiting periods, mandatory gun safety courses, and even psychological evaluations for any and all prospective gun buyers could be considered. Gun owners could even be required to own a licensed and registered safe, further ensuring that guns are stored out of harm’s way. Tax increases on the purchase and sale of firearms to help pay for gun safety programs are another possibility. Perhaps even advanced tracking and tracing technology can be used to minimize the proliferation of illicit firearms. All these, and other ideas, could go a long way toward making sure guns are kept in the right hands and out of the wrong hands, without having to ban specific guns.

But the inevitable questions persist. Would any of this have helped prevent what happened in Newtown? The answer is at best a vague “No one knows.” If we’re really honest with ourselves, we might realize that sadly the answer is more likely “Probably not.” Because as long as we go for the easy and emotionally satisfying “fix” (gun control) instead of properly and decisively addressing the real issue (mental health), we leave ourselves open to yet another unfortunate tragedy like the one in Newtown. God help us!  

A Not-So-True Christmas Story

I attended an Early Release Day workshop recently at the school where I work. Among the activities, we had to write about a holiday experience. So, I made one up. I volunteered to read it out loud, and everybody seemed to get a kick out of it, so I decided to post it here. Merry Christmas to all!

A Not-So-True Christmas Story

Grandma got run over by a reindeer. No, really, she did! It all happened on a cold, snowy winter’s night in Miami. My family and I were sloshing through the sidewalk of our neighborhood, going from house to house singing off-key renditions of classic Christmas carols like “You Put WHAT in the Eggnog?” and “The Pig Fell on the Ground Last Noche Buena.” Needless to say, we were a big hit.

As we were turning to leave a particularly well-decorated house, Grandma tripped over an extension cord that had been obscured by the relentless snowfall. As the cord went taut, it caught a nearby plastic Rudolph statue complete with bulbous red nose that blinked to the rhythm of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The red-nosed ruminant came flying across the lawn and tackled poor Grandma, pinning down her frail shoulders with its shiny plastic hoofs. She was okay, however, her unfortunate fall cushioned by the soft white blanket underneath. We helped Grandma up and continued on our merry way, stopping by La Carreta for some churros and hot chocolate before heading home to open our Christmas presents.

Getting Our Fiscal House in Order

We the People. Those three words launch the blueprint of our democracy. Abraham Lincoln said we have a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” That means our government serves us. Our government reflects us. Our government is us! That’s why our government must behave and act responsibly on our behalf. We should expect our government to face its fiscal challenges the same way any responsible citizen would.

A responsible citizen who spends more than he makes must adjust in order to balance his budget. He can cut his spending, increase his income, or do a combination of both. Just like the citizen with an unbalanced budget, our government spends much more than it takes in. And our government faces the same choices when it comes to spending and income.

The responsible citizen can find an extra job, or a higher paying job. But that takes time. He must update his resume, look for job openings, go on job interviews, etc. None of these things are guaranteed to work, and even if he is eventually successful, it takes some time. In the meantime, he can bring his budget immediately under control by focusing on the spending side of his balance sheet. He can trim his excess spending and begin to balance his budget even while still earning the same income.

Likewise, our government should do the same thing to balance its budget and steadily diminish the national debt: cut excess spending first, then raise the revenue necessary to complete the budget balancing process. In other words, our government needs to slash wasteful spending, find more efficient ways to run its programs, and eliminate unnecessary expenditures before it goes raising taxes on anyone, wealthy or otherwise. Once our government is running in the most reasonably efficient and cost-effective way possible, then and only then does it earn the right to increase any citizen’s taxes. As long as our government wastes, misspends, or otherwise throws away our tax dollars, it does not possess the moral right to ask any of us to pay more.

President Obama insists that raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans is a necessary first step toward getting our fiscal house in order. But our government should make sure it is spending our tax dollars fairly first before it asks anyone to “pay their fair share.”