The nation has been shaken by another massacre with scenes of frightened children, young lives lost, and more questions than answers. And although this may be unpopular on the Right, it’s time for we, the conservatives, the gun owners of this nation, to have a serious conversation about gun control and mental health treatment.
Where is it written in the Constitution that we have the right to have tracer rounds and armor-piercing bullets? The right to bear arms is one thing, but the right to bear machine guns with armor-piercing rounds and fixed bayonets is another. I’m not an absolutist on the Second Amendment, nor am I an absolutist on the First Amendment. I live by the First Amendment, but I am restricted in what I can say. I cannot say kill a person on my show; I’d lose my career. Therefore, I have limitations on my First Amendment. Why should there be no limitations on all the other amendments?
I do not think the average American citizen is entitled to buy tracer rounds as we saw with the shooter in Las Vegas. I do not believe the average American needs tracer rounds, nor do I believe the average American needs explosive rounds. We’ve gone to the extremes on these issues, and I think we need to rein in some of the people who are getting access to guns.
Now, we have a case like this troubled former student obsessed with guns who showed other students pictures of guns. He should have been arrested preventatively, detained, put in prison, and put in a mental hospital where he would be given the care he needs. Instead there are dead children, wounded children, teachers that are going to be shattered for the rest of their lives. But liberals, such as Jerry Brown’s father the former Governor Pat Brown, have long closed these mental health facilities and left these people to be a danger to themselves and others.
There are so many cases of these multiple shootings in high schools now, and we’re not having a serious discussion on it. We must address mental illness and psychoactive medications that have led to many of these tragedies. Of course, it’s going to fall along the fault lines. The Left will say ‘seize all guns.’ The Right will say ‘don’t touch any of our guns.’ We all know how this debate goes, but there needs to be some balance here. When are we going to say enough is enough? Tell me what has to happen? When they’re your own children?
