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To the editor:
The reason for gun violence is mental illness. Blaming guns is like blaming cars for highway deaths. The person behind the machine is the one to blame.
What about teenagers texting and driving and how many die? Where is the cry to get rid of cellphones? Why then is the cry always about guns? Because it makes it a political argument on the Second Amendment! Another cause to divide our citizens.
Most major cities with major gun violence are Democratically controlled. (Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Minneapolis, etc.) The strictest gun laws in these cities do not produce less gun deaths than in less regulated cities. Some people can't seem to grasp that fact. What is so hard to understand? Gun control does not work!
The latest Texas shooter bought his gun legally. No criminal record. What was his problem? A friend recently shared an observation made by a teenager. He said the problem of kids shooting up schools is a way to get attention. Social media has replaced human interaction. Many people are losing the ability to physically connect with other people, to care, to be compassionate. Their families and schools are failing to teach social skills.
I think he has a point. The shooter in Texas had an argument with his grandmother over a cellphone bill. The inference is, his lifeline to human contact was cut and he lost control, shooting her in the face before shooting up the school.
I don't pretend to know the details of this young man's state of mind but something went horribly wrong in his ability to cope with his situation and inflicted death without reason or compassion.
How sad this all is. Mental health and social media reform are the answers. The media beating these stories for days on end, asking grieving parents the most personal questions at their lowest moment is disgusting. Giving TV airtime to depraved actions, fans the flames for attention. The media needs to stop using these tragedies for ratings and show some respect and decorum. They are not helping violence in America, they are exploiting and exacerbating it!
People are crying that nothing has been done to control gun violence. Maybe, instead of sending $40 billion to Ukraine for their security it should have been spent on American mental health and our school security.
Maybe the decline of organized religion in America has something to do with it. Taking prayer out of school? Removing the Ten Commandments from many public platforms? Failing to teach and reinforce good behavior is producing emotional numbness and apathy.
The basic human values taught in church are being replaced with what can be seen on cellphones. No guidance or explanations given for its content. The effects of this will continue to develop for years to come. Where will it end?
Gun violence is a health issue (social and mental), not a Second Amendment issue.
Michael C. Spahr
Lewistown