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When I was 12, a student at my junior high school brought a .22 to school and shot his social studies teacher dead. He was the son of an very prominent family and our school turned into a media circus that day. I've felt cynical about guns since that day and don't own one. Fortunately, I live in a city that is relatively free from violent crime, and my lifestyle is ... sedate. I hope I never feel the need to get a gun for self-defense.

That said, I support the right to keep and bear arms. The historical reasons cited in the main thread are not archaic, they are still valid, both practically and symbolically, of the equality of American citizens before their government. I fully support the right of gun ownership for hunting and for self-defense. I do think some compromise is necessary in the sale and possession of military-style weapons. You can kill so many people so quickly with these weapons. I think anyone buying one should have to demonstrate a damn good reason. ETA: I support the idea of banning the rapid fire clips, etc. that mwp talked about in her post.

There are many societal problems we need to fix. As far as criminals go, we need to fix the prisons, fix education, fix the ravenous appetite for drugs that is fueling the violence on the border. We have so much work on ourselves to do as a society.

I heard a psychologist talk earlier in the evening about the profile of the individuals who commit horrible crimes like the one today. He spoke of externalized rage, blaming others, fantasies about revenge and to be a big man. The trouble is ... these emotions are common in young men, most of whom would never hurt a fly.

My good friend and his wife have a son this age who became so depressed in college he supposedly needed medication, then the medication made him go crazy and he tried to kill them. His parents whom he dearly loves! Now he is OK and back in school, off drugs ... I wonder if medication might have played a role in this tragedy and other recent ones. Just something I wonder about.

How do we channel these young men and their emotions into something constructive? What is happening here?

I am suggesting that impressionable children be taught that God is Love. In any language, in any religious belief, there is this common truth. Even agnostics and atheists can not deny that Love is powerful and the ultimate force for good. Children especially need to be loved, and to be taught about love and it's power. Prayer is communication with God is Love.

When I went to school, every day, before the pledge of alliegence was said, we all recited the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses, as we forgive those who tresspass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, and ever. Amen.

At that time, and I graduated high school in 1969, most people in this country were Christians, and they went to church, and they worshipped God. Jewish people went to synagogues, and they worshipped God. There were very few Hindus, Buddists, Islamists, atheists, or agnostics in this country. The Lord's Prayer was commonly accepted as the simple standard of faith.

Then the atheists came, demanding their right to not be taught about God in school, and they won the fight, in the courts, because of our constitutional separation of church and state. Not that God or Christianity was being taught in school, it was just this one simple, powerful prayer.

It is interesting that all sessions of Congress open with a prayer, but it is not allowed in our schools. It has been reduced to "a moment of silence." People have the right to pray, and children should not be prohibited from learning of it's power.

My opinion:
Those who don't believe that prayer is powerful, and who believe that it is wrong to teach impressionable children about it, are doing a tremendous disservice to them, and to all of us, and to our great society and our great nation.
Teaching prayer and any religious beliefts do not belong in public schools, and when I was in public school, these were not taught. But we did say this simple and powerful prayer every morning.
It just seems to me, that this society has gone down the tubes slowly, progressively, until we are at the point now of these horrific tragedies, that were not common or frequent until about 20 years ago. This coincides with the first generation raised without prayer.

On facebook this morning, I saw the following:

Dear God,
Why do you allow so much viloence in our schools?
signed, concerned student.

Dear concerned student:
I'm not allowed in schools.
signed, God.

Re the last posts: I noticed once more, that Adam draws all kinds of people ... and I realised that my own opinion and believes are not shared by all. Surprised me and makes me to work on my perceptions and assumptions. Apart from that I will now put in my earplugs and pretend the world does not exist ... because I don't like it right now.

Well, for Adam performing I will jump in again. [img src="i770.photobucket.com/albums/xx348/Quu3/Adam%20Smilys/Other%20Smileys/wub.gif"][/IMG]


ETA OK , reread my post and nobody could understand what I mean ... let me make it clear:

I will never ever understand how a person could have a device that is MEANT and CONSTRUCTED and READY to KILL A PERSON in their home. That to me represents a willingness to end a persons life. ... for whatever reason ... no matter...

a willingness to kill ....

I have no words .... but I am crying

Praying works, I know that ... that's what makes it scary .... people pray for different things. That's one of the things that makes me cry.