Missing the mark in mass shooting debate

On a recent visit to Newtown, Connecticut – site of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting where 26 people died – I went to Ground Zero (the school was demolished after the tragedy), said a prayer, and wondered if we’ll ever have the courage to tackle the real causes for these mass killings.

Sadly, the answer is no. And the reason is simple: You can’t solve a problem until you know what the problem is. Both sides refuse to look at the truth of why these shootings are happening now – when they never did before – so the reality is that we’re not close to a solution.

After two more mass shootings, debate is raging. Unfortunately, damn near everyone is arguing the wrong things.

We will never, repeat never, stop these shootings until we figure out why they are occurring, and address those causes with real-world approaches. The indisputable fact is that these mass shootings, especially in schools, were virtually nonexistent until Columbine in 1999 – and, for the record, that massacre occurred while an assault weapons ban was in place.

The Sandy Hook and Orlando nightclub massacres, along with many other mass shootings, occurred under President Obama’s watch. Yet virtually no one blamed him – nor should they have – even though Democrats controlled Congress and the White House between 2008 and 2010.

Similarly, gun manufacturers should never be held liable, even though preposterous lawsuits against them remain in the courts. Under that rationale, Chevy should be responsible when a Corvette driver kills due to excessive speed, and beer companies sued when someone dies due to drunk driving. The sheer irrationality is mind boggling.

But above all, it is unforgivable that individuals, especially politicians, have directly blamed President Trump for the recent shootings. Their “justification” is that Mr. Trump is racist, and his “hatred” made the shooters do it. That’s downright despicable.

Has the President said dumb things? Of course. Has he made statements that some construe as racist? Yep. But so what? Doing so is irrelevant to the topic at hand.

Ironically, the very act of blaming anyone other than the shooters themselves – whose names this column will never mention, since recognition is what they crave most – has, in part, led to the rise of mass murderers. Our failure to hold people accountable – from sports to school, and work to home – is partially responsible for these unspeakable events.

If you wish to dislike the president, oppose his policies, and vote against him – fine. But have the decency and class not to blame him for a criminal’s heinous action. The victims, and their families, deserve no less.

Any media entity reporting mass shootings as “white terrorism” should be shamed, for two reasons: 1) they don’t do likewise when it is a black shooter, which feeds into our toxic double-standard culture, and 2) domestic terrorism is domestic terrorism. Period. It shouldn’t be defined by skin color. Law enforcement should investigate every terrorist and criminal act with equal gusto, ditto for prosecutors. To single out one group over another to fulfil a warped, race-driven political agenda is nefarious, and callously prioritizes partisan politics over victims’ lives.

Speaking of hypocrisy, where was the outcry of “black nationalism” after a black shooter targeted and killed five Dallas police officers because of his perception that white cops were racist?

Not surprisingly, no one is talking about the other mass shooting that occurred: 55 shot in Chicago over the weekend – so many that a hospital closed its ER due to volume. These mass shootings occur every week in America, and while not singular events, the carnage is staggeringly high. Cities are already the most restrictive gun zones in the country, so anyone thinking that more gun bans would stem those shootings is in fantasyland.

FOX commentator Sean Hannity has again demonstrated that he may not be America’s dumbest person, but he’s Top Ten.

His “solution:” armed guards on every floor of every school, mall and public facility, as well as stationed around the perimeters of those buildings.

Really? Making America into a bigger police state is his solution? Not only doesn’t it address why these shootings are occurring, but it won’t deter anyone seeking a “romanticized” suicideby-cop grand exit.

How Hannity is still on TV remains a mystery, but at least he has a career in comedy after his FOX gig ends.