I remember the afternoon of April 20, 1999, quite well. School had been dismissed at Escalante Middle School, and I was in my classroom when a colleague came in and told me I had to turn on the TV and watch Denver news.
The Columbine shooting was being reported on, and we were aghast at the story unfolding. Here we are today over 22 years later and the story is continually unfolding as American schools have become the battlefield over guns in this country. Over 300 school shootings have happened since Columbine – 44 this year, including 32 since Aug. 1. And now we have two parents seemingly abetting their son in Michigan’s latest tragedy. What is wrong with us.
I am a gun owner. I do not belong to the National Rifle Association nor do I support their policies or philosophy. The Second Amendment, which grants citizens the right to bear arms, is predicated by “a well-regulated militia,” which does not authorize vigilantism, as we have seen in the Rittenhouse and Arbury cases; nor does it grant citizens the right to own weapons of war, as we see many far-right, white supremacist groups brandishing.
Now we have a variety of states authorizing open carry of any type of weapon, in virtually any place. It seems as though the GOP and right-wing response to the epidemic of gun violence in our country is to have more guns on the streets. This is insanity.
Gene Orr
Hesperus
