1. Promote gun safety and responsibility. The fact is that background checks would not have prevented Newtown shooter from getting a hold of the guns that he used to commit mass murder. I don’t know what, if any, methods his mother used to secure her guns but they obviously were not enough. If someone owns gun(s), they have a responsibility to make sure they are secure and don’t end up in the hands of someone that should not have them. I would like to think that a national campaign of PSA’s on gun safety would be a starting point.
2. Pass universal background checks. While universal background checks will not prevent every person from having a gun who should not have one, they will make it harder. I can’t drive a motor vehicle without a license there is no reason I should be able to buy a gun without first passing a background check.
3. Make sure those that should not be able to buy a gun (felons, mentally ill, etc.) are identified and placed in a national database that is updated frequently. Establish a process so that those that have gotten the help they need and no longer are a danger to society may have their names removed.
4. Strengthen the ability of the ATF by repealing the Tiahrt amendments and any other restriction that prevents the current laws from being enforced.
5. Encourage states to pass laws the punish those that have illegal guns. I would like to see those laws modeled after Project Exile. I lived in Richmond, VA during the initial enactment of Project Exile and I remember the difference that it made.
6. Encourage states to make the punishment for selling an illegal gun stiffer than owning one. For example, an illegal gun will get you 5 years in VA, selling a known illegal gun should get you 10 years.
7. Encourage the movie and video industries to tighten their ratings in regards to violence and promote better parent education and dialogue on children and violent imagery.
8. While we certainly need to cut our federal spending, please make sure it is not done at the expense of mental health services. Now is the time to increase the services that need to be provided to those that need our help.
9. Establish a maximum limit on magazine clips and outlaw armor piercing ammunition. While I have the right to defend myself, I don’t need 30 rounds to do so and I certainly don’t need armor piercing bullets.
10. I am not a gun enthusiast nor am I a gun expert. However, I do believe that if there is a weapon that is being sold in the U.S. whose sole purpose is a weapon of war, designed to kill on a large scale than it should be outlawed. I do not know if any of the “assault-style” rifles fit that description. I realize the reality of any legislation that outlaws a gun does not have much of a chance of passing; however I believe that weapons of war belong solely in the hands of our warriors.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
I think my parents were right (on movie violence)
A couple of days ago, I observed an online conversation between some good friends of mine. A friend stated that she was at Zero Dark Thirty with her ~8 year old son. Another friend made the comment that she allowed her kids to see violent movies but not ones with sex. The thought then crossed my mind that this is exactly what should be part of the national conversation that needs to be had about the role that media plays in our American culture of violence.
When I was a child I wasn’t allowed to watch very violent movies. To this day, I very rarely do. However, I was allowed to watch movies that had nudity and some adult/sexual content. I can even remember my mother sending me upstairs once when she felt like the movie was too “adult” for me.
I think my parents had it right and my friends have it wrong. I am not saying that my friends are bad parents, on the contrary they are great parents, they love their children and they really want what’s best for them. I suspect that there are a lot of parents that agree with them. I just think that when we as a society think its ok to expose our children to movies that glorify violence (like Saw, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc) or a movie with (at least in my mind) the very adult content of torture over a movie that has a tasteful sex scene or some adult content than we have a problem.
For the record, I am not advocating that we allow our kids to watch porn (although a lot of them already are) and there are a lot of movies that are rated R for sexual content that are not appropriate for kids. However, maybe, just maybe parents need to think about what seeing all that senseless violence can do to a child. A movie is rated R for a reason and while we can’t control what movies parents show to their children at home, maybe its time to not allow small children in R movies or maybe its time for more movies to get an R rating for violence instead of a PG-13.
I am not saying that watching violent movies or playing violent video games is the sole cause of what makes a mass murderer but isn’t Sandy Hook enough of a reason to take a closer look? Every kid is different and it really is up to the parent to determine if the child is ready to see any form of adult content. However, its time we take a hard look at what our children are watching or playing and the effect that senseless violence has on them. Its time we talk about the responsibility of parents to ensure that children who are not capable of understanding the difference between fantasy and reality don’t live in a fantasy land that is filled with blood and guts. This isn’t something that we as a society should legislate but I really hope that the next time your child wants to see a violent movie you might just stop and consider what all these violent images are doing to your child’s soul. I find it ironic that European countries where sexual content is everywhere and violence is not do not as a general rule, have the culture of violence that the U.S. does. Maybe we could learn something from them.
When I was a child I wasn’t allowed to watch very violent movies. To this day, I very rarely do. However, I was allowed to watch movies that had nudity and some adult/sexual content. I can even remember my mother sending me upstairs once when she felt like the movie was too “adult” for me.
I think my parents had it right and my friends have it wrong. I am not saying that my friends are bad parents, on the contrary they are great parents, they love their children and they really want what’s best for them. I suspect that there are a lot of parents that agree with them. I just think that when we as a society think its ok to expose our children to movies that glorify violence (like Saw, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc) or a movie with (at least in my mind) the very adult content of torture over a movie that has a tasteful sex scene or some adult content than we have a problem.
For the record, I am not advocating that we allow our kids to watch porn (although a lot of them already are) and there are a lot of movies that are rated R for sexual content that are not appropriate for kids. However, maybe, just maybe parents need to think about what seeing all that senseless violence can do to a child. A movie is rated R for a reason and while we can’t control what movies parents show to their children at home, maybe its time to not allow small children in R movies or maybe its time for more movies to get an R rating for violence instead of a PG-13.
I am not saying that watching violent movies or playing violent video games is the sole cause of what makes a mass murderer but isn’t Sandy Hook enough of a reason to take a closer look? Every kid is different and it really is up to the parent to determine if the child is ready to see any form of adult content. However, its time we take a hard look at what our children are watching or playing and the effect that senseless violence has on them. Its time we talk about the responsibility of parents to ensure that children who are not capable of understanding the difference between fantasy and reality don’t live in a fantasy land that is filled with blood and guts. This isn’t something that we as a society should legislate but I really hope that the next time your child wants to see a violent movie you might just stop and consider what all these violent images are doing to your child’s soul. I find it ironic that European countries where sexual content is everywhere and violence is not do not as a general rule, have the culture of violence that the U.S. does. Maybe we could learn something from them.
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