Thoughts and Prayers

We had another mass killing on Sunday, 11/5/2017. This time it was in a small town in Texas, Sutherland Springs. The massacre took place in a rural church during Sunday services. The killer used an AR-15 type semi-automatic rifle to kill 26 and wound another 20. It turns out Devin Kelley, the shooter, had a long history of violence and mental problems in his past. 

After every one of these terrible tragedies, the politicians and most everyone else says our "thoughts and prayers" are with the victims, families, community, first responders, etc. That's great, but we have been giving our "thoughts and prayers" to mass killing victims over and over again. 

Apparently "thoughts and prayers" do not fix the problem. Maybe it is time to do more and something different. There are two components to these mass killings. One is usually mental illness and the other is easy access to deadly weapons. We should be able to make it harder for the mentally ill to get hold of these deadly weapons. We also should be able to improve and expand the treatment of the mentally ill so maybe they won't go on these rampages. We will never be able to identify and treat all those who have mental problems. We also won't ever be able to keep guns out of the hands of all those who shouldn't have them. Just because we can't reach perfection doesn't mean we shouldn't reach for it and improve the system. 

There are loopholes in our gun laws. It is easier to buy a gun or get a license to carry in some states or cities than others. There are the gun show and private sale exceptions to the background checks. 

There is a big deficit in identifying and treating mental illness. After the Sutherland Springs shooting, President Trump said that this is a mental health problem, not a gun problem. It seems to me it is a problem of the mentally ill having guns. On the mental health side, Trump and the GOP have proposed draconian health care bills that would drastically reduce money and access to mental health care. They also oppose any bill in Congress that would tighten up background checks or limit semi-automatic weapons. 

It is easy to say "thoughts and prayers"  after each of these incidents. It is a little harder and apparently impossible to stand up to the NRA and pass stricter gun laws. It also appears that money for mental health is also out of the question. 

Some politicians and others have also indicated that this Sutherland Springs shooting is even more egregious because it occurred in a church. That is completely off the mark. All these mass shootings are equally terrible. It doesn't matter if you are in a school, a nightclub, a movie theater, a music concert, or any other place. They were all innocent victims.  

For our politicians, keep saying "thoughts and prayers" but make sure you don't actually do anything to reduce the possibility of a wacko with a gun killing many people. 

I am not the least bit optimistic that any changes will come about because of this latest incident but I'm sure we will have many more "thoughts and prayers". This is our new normal. 

wjh