The shooter — not the gun — is the culprit

America is at another juncture in its growth on our constitutionality issues vs. the government’s enthusiasm to control every aspect of our private lives through more legislation. All it takes is a major event followed by non-stop media attention to turn the focus from what we need to do to seek the solution to redefining the “problem” as a constitutional issue. It seems to help the ongoing attention if violence is a factor and there is an opportunity to pit one segment of society against the other about what led to the event. I’m speaking of the mass shootings — school, theater, national or international where large numbers of victims are involved and the culprit is suddenly the gun — not the shooter.

Outside of military use, automatic weapons are of little use in our everyday world. No self-respecting hunter would want a deer slaughtered by automatic weapon fire when the object is to bring down the animal with a single shot for the satisfaction of the hunt and the value of the meat for consumption. If, however, I choose to arm myself as a part of the civilian militia, as addressed in the Constitution, having a military style fully automatic firing weapon is well within reason. What good would a single shot .22 caliber rifle be against modern weaponry as used by today’s armies? Isn’t the Constitution protecting both reasons for ownership even though few families depend exclusively on hunting for food today?

So, people need to do some research about weapons and understand the difference between automatic and semi-automatic fire weapons. Large capacity ammunition clips are a convenience if one wants them but actually three 10-bullet clips are easier to hide than one which holds 30 rounds and adds extra weight to the gun when attached to it. Outlawing large capacity clips doesn’t correct mental defects in someone bent on a crime. It might reduce the number of shots fired, but not the fact that they were fired. The purpose of private ownership — hunting, protection at home, concealed carry, or the desire to comply with the need for a civilian militia — needs to be considered as we look for solutions.

This, of course, leads us to the person owning, or using, the weapon and their motive. Will we ever be able to understand what prompts the kind of action demonstrated in the theater in Colorado or the grade school in Connecticut? These situations are not the result of a drug deal gone bad or a wife angry at her husband’s relationship with another woman. When we can identify the problem it is much easier to come to grips with the result and move on. Those events are very short-lived in the news media. How do you carry those cases into the halls of Congress and attack the National Rifle Association and the 2nd Amendment with that kind of personal passion? How do you legislate the thinking of a person so angry at society that they kill their own mother and then use her arsenal of weapons to kill unarmed, innocent children and then end it all with no explanation by taking one’s own life? How can society deal with the expression and courtroom demeanor of James Holmes after his shooting spree in the Colorado theater when he had set up his apartment as a death trap to harm even more people? These are sinister events created in the minds of humans who have yielded to forces beyond the realm of society and psychiatry. These people live in their own private hell and unless we recognize and reverse their direction early in life, we are certain to have other problems similar to these two in the future. They may be less dramatic and they don’t always include highcapacity semi-automatic weapons, but they are tragically gruesome none the less. Is a serial murderer who kills numerous people over a period of time any less insane than these two examples?

I would suggest it is our inability to anticipate and warn people about these spectacular events that leads to the gun control issue. The threat of government intervention precipitates the mass crowds at gun shows and is reported to have led to doubling the price of military-style assault rifles when they can be found. The weapon is absolutely no different today than it was before Newtown’s horrific shooting, but the news media has publicized the threat to our safety actually promoting the sale of the supposed “villain gun” and doing nothing to make the world safer for children and adults.

The government’s solution to gun control lost a lot of credibility when the Fast and Furious program for drug guns fell apart.

For my part, I prefer to live in a GOD-fearing, caring nation where Hillary Clinton’s village helps that “child” to whom she refers to become a well-adjusted member of a society where self-respect and spiritual well-being are an integral part of society.

We might learn something about Holmes, but the situation in Newtown will remain cloaked in mystery. Did Lanza kill his mother in anger or did she try to stop him from taking the guns? Did he feel the school had failed him because it had ceased to be what he had experienced as a child and he felt he was keeping those children from experiencing some failure he felt in his life? The list goes on and will never be complete because those who allow violence to be the center of their final act in life seldom leave much of a meaningful explanation.

But, we can fight the gun issue over and over. That is a real printable issue that can separate parties and make talk show material until we have open carry or the government tries to confiscate all guns. Nothing discussed so far would have kept the children at Newtown safe from the insane young man who killed them.

A new program for background checks is a start but mental health needs to be a part of any standard they choose.

••• Editor’s note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@nwaonline. com.