Whether
it is caused by a person with mental issue or someone with a political or
religious agenda, it is always a tragedy when public violence occurs.
Unfortunately, whenever someone is angry or feels they need to make an
important statement about something, they choose to use a firearm in a public
place.
On April
2 2014 34-year-old Spc. Ivan Lopez, who was said to be struggling with a
psychological condition, according to CNN.com, used a .45 caliber pistol to
kill three soldiers and wound 16. Psychological issues have only been a piece
of gun violence on military posts or public places.
On
November 5, 2009 Nidal Hasan gunned down 13 and wounded 31 while shouting
“Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest” in Arabic) according to www.reuters.com.
Hassan received the death penalty for his role in the massacre, all while in
defiance of the United States Military. Hasan was an Army psychiatrist. Since
the Obama Administration has labeled the 2009 attack “workplace violence”, the
victims will not be eligible for benefits.
As we
all know, not all shootings are terroristic in nature, but many of the shooters
do have mental issues and, unfortunately, a firearm in the right (or wrong)
hands can be deadly. How can we stop troubled people from killing others
without infringing upon the rights of the rest of us? We can’t. Shit happens.
I do
have a possible connection to the Fort Hood shooting. I was in the U.S. Army in
the late 80’s and was to be stationed at Fort Hood. I’m sure I still have
buddies that are stationed there. I recall in the past that the military police
carried rifles and pistols with them while on duty and no one got hurt.
I am
sure that many people have the opinion that completely removing guns from our
society will create the illusion of a safer society, however, that idea has
already proven to be false. Even if weapons, even on a military post, are
outlawed, someone will always find a way to kill, even without guns.
The idea
of a military installation being a “gun-free zone” is preposterous. Our
government spends millions of dollars and man-hours making sure we have the
best equipped, best trained military in the world; yet, our government doesn’t
trust our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines with carrying weapons on
installations. We entrust these people with our security and the security of
our country, yet we take their guns away. The results are clear, the shootings
in Fort Hood proves we need protection from those who mean to do us harm.
We
already know gun-free zones don’t work. All the public shootings have occurred
in gun-free zones, yet, we continue to keep people from having guns in areas
that have proven to be targets for those who may be mentally unstable or have a
point to
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