Reform We Actually Need

I've seen a lot of my friends posting on Facebook over the last 24 hours or so in an outrage that the Senate blocked the passage of the gun control reform bill.  This bill, among other things, increased the scrutiny on background checks for prospective gun buyers.

Now before I go further, let me state that I am not a gun owner, nor do I plan to own a gun.  There's no reason for me to have one.  But, I do respect the rights of those who want to own a gun, whether it be for hunting purposes, hobby shooting, or for a greater sense of security.  I agree with the provision in the 2nd Amendment to Keep and Bear Arms.  I believe that an armed public is a great deterrent to a tyrannical government.

I think we can all agree that the Newtown, CT tragedy was the event that spurred this current gun debate.  I believe this tragedy was more a failure of our society to recognize and treat mental illness than it was a failure of gun control.  From all accounts, Adam Lanza's mother was a law abiding citizen that had every right to own a firearm.  I am not convinced that any stricter gun control laws would have prevented the Newtown tragedy.  Further, as the Boston marathon bombing proves, crazy people will find ways to murder and wound people without guns.

On Wednesday, Chuck Grassley (R - IA) and Ted Cruz (R - TX) introduced an alternative to the gun legislation.  You probably haven't heard about this, because it doesn't fit the liberal agenda talking point of restricting gun ownership.  Instead, this law makes it easier for law abiding citizens to get guns, while providing funding for stronger prosecution of criminals who attempt to buy a gun and fail the background check.  This bill also provides for more assistant U.S Attorneys and more ATF agents.  Most importantly, this bill provides funding for resources devoted to the mentally ill and funding for schools to spend on safety measures.

So, we have a bill that directly addresses what happened in Newtown, CT, and this bill will never see the light of day in the Senate because it doesn't include stricter gun control measures.  This is the most clear evidence that those pushing the failed Senate bill were never in this to address what happened in Newtown.  They simply used that event as the catalyst to push for something that has been on the liberal agenda for a long time, stricter gun control laws. 

We have an autistic child who occasionally has a violent outburst.  We have been fortunate to be able to get really good help for our son and he is doing great!  But I know what a struggle it is to have a child that has a mental illness.  I know the stigma that can come with this, such as the stares from other adults when your seemingly "normal" kid has an outburst in the grocery store.  To make it worse, some educators and other parents who don't believe in "special needs" feel compelled to tell you why you've failed as a parent, and that if you were just "stricter and more disciplined" your child would be "normal".

A real movement could have begun to start to get people with mental disorders the help they need!  Further, this could have removed the stigma that comes with a mental disorder by educating the public.  Instead, those elected to lead us chose to make this a political fight and ignored the real issues that continue to cause these tragic events in our society.  That is the secondary tragedy in all of this.