In the Hands of Children?
06/09/24 07:20
September 6, 2024 (Vol. 18 No. 39) - You can't help but wonder what the hell Colin Gray was thinking when he gave his 14-year-old son Colt an assault rifle as a Christmas present. And what is he thinking now that he has been arrested for "knowingly allowing" his son to have the weapon, the one Colt used to kill four people and injured nine others at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, this week? According to CNN, this was the 45th school shooting this calendar year. That's the lowest number for this time of year in the past five years. But that's nothing to brag about. The failure of Republicans in Congress to enact reasonable gun restrictions has perpetuated this national disgrace. However, as I have noted in my book Thirteen Minutes: Death of an American High School, Americans have become desensitized to these sorry statistics. At the time of this writing, we don't know Colt Gray's motivation behind killing two of his fellow students and two of his teachers. As I cite in my book, there are several factors that motivate mass murderers: A desire to be famous, isolation, rejection, bullying and mental illness. However, it is virtually impossible to create a profile of a "typical" mass-casualty shooter. Each case is different. But there is one thing we know for certain: Don't give weapons of mass destruction to children. Period. End of Discussion. I was surprised - and pleased - that authorities in gun-crazy Georgia arrested the boy's father. This follows the precedent set in Michigan last April, when a teenage shooter's parents were sentenced to 10 years in prison following another school shooting that left four people dead. While Colin Gray may be legally innocent until proven guilty, he is certainly guilty of incredibly stupid judgment. After all, who in their right mind puts assault rifles in the hand of children? There should be a law against it. Come to think of it, there is, but in only 20 states. How much more blood will be shed before Republicans in Congress come to their senses, do the right thing, and enact reasonable gun control regulation that protects both our children and the Second Amendment? That's it for now. Fear the Turtle. Photo courtesy Associated Press.