Simoneaux: There are answers, but they’ll have to come from us
Published 1:30 am Monday, October 9, 2017
By Larry Simoneaux
I had another column all fleshed out and ready to submit.
It was light and an easy read. Something to help pass the time over a cup of coffee.
Then, I woke up last Monday morning to the news of what had happened in Las Vegas — as of this writing, 58 people killed and another 500-plus injured, many seriously.
To any rational soul, those weren’t just numbers in a news story. Those were casualty statistics from a battlefield.
We know who the shooter was but, now, we’re searching for a reason. Not because the reason will change the horror of what happened, but because we’re looking for an explanation in order to prevent something like this from happening again. Unfortunately, even if we find a reason, t’s doubtful that, as things are now, anything of significance will be done to prevent another such incident.
And so, once again, here we are — seeking solutions to a problem that seems unsolvable.
The problem centers both on guns and those who have access to them. The problem is not the guns themselves as they are simply tools. Tools that, left to themselves, would cause no harm or present any danger whatsoever. Unfortunately, there are more than 300 million of these tools among us — almost one for every man, woman and child in this nation.
Further, far too many of these tools get into the hands of those who: (a) aren’t trained in their use; (b) don’t have the good sense to handle them properly (Google YouTube and gun stupidity); (c) refuse to store them and their ammunition safely; (d) are mentally unstable; or (d) are criminally or murderously inclined.
Unfortunately, that’s the dangerous stew constantly bubbling in our society and it’s a stew that will assuredly boil over again and again until we find a way to set it away safely.
I’m a firearms owner. I’m a father. I’m a hunter. I’m a grandfather. I’m a shooter. I’m a follower of laws. I’m a lover of this country. I’m a believer that the vast majority of people are decent. I’m also a realist who understands the need for self-defense as there are some among us who, for whatever reason, will do us harm. Still, I see things that should be and need to be changed. I see freedoms that need to be protected and I see restrictions and boundaries that need to be adopted. I see arguments that need to be listened to and debated and I see problems and hurdles that need to be overcome.
I also see bodies on the street that tell me we’re not doing any of the above well enough.
Over and over — most usually after incidents such as the one in Las Vegas — we are treated to a replay of the same arguments and proposals that we’ve all heard so many times that we can almost repeat them from memory. They range from the hard over “It’s time to ban all firearms in the country” to the “If everyone carried (or, at least,) had access to a firearm, none of this would happen.”
On a more rational level, the arguments for required safety training, restrictions on magazine capacity, improved and tighter background checks, waiting periods, laws mandating the safe storage of firearms and ammunition, etc., will all be brought forward again. And, sadly, not much will come from so doing.
For what it’s worth, I don’t see the “Moses” we need to lead us out of all of this. Further, I don’t think any of the answers will come from the ideologues on either side of this issue. By their very nature, they’re not inclined to consider — let alone listen to — ideas other than their own. Nor do I believe that the answers will come from the “top” down. There’s just too much money at stake, just too many lobbyists, special interests and people whose only goal is to be re-elected.
I do, however, believe there are answers. That reasonable and rational solutions can be found. I also believe that such ideas will come from the bottom up. They’ll come from people with differing ideas siting down and reaching agreement despite arguments that may get heated.
They’ll come from people who’ll not wander from the points at hand to vilify the other side.
Mostly, though, they’ll come from people who’re both angry and will no longer accept the idea that the bodies of innocent men, women and children on the streets or in classrooms, offices or homes are now a societal norm to simply be accepted.
We need those ideas and we need those arguments. And we — firearms owners and those who aren’t — are those people. We have to be.
That much I need to I believe.
Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to larrysim@comcast.net.
