Time to THINK

The past few days have been rough for the majority of the United States of America. In fact, it seems the past few years have been rough. Virginia Tech, the Amish school, Connecticut, and now all of these random outbursts of people open firing on innocent people with no reasons.

And what is our first reaction to all of this chaos? Allow me to give you somewhat of an idea. The media rushes in, does a quick survey of the area, and begin their black magic. What does a normal...hold on...what SHOULD a normal person do in response to something like the shootings in Sandy Hook Elementary? I would think people would stop and think about the children and adults who lost their lives that day and be thankful for their family and hold them close. And some did do this, and for those who did, I thank you. I joined you. This tragedy was senseless and very upsetting. It hits home no matter where you are, because we all know someone the same age as each little one that died. We each know someone that was like the adults who threw themselves in the line of fire.

I would hope our second reaction to all this would be to rethink what this means for the aftermath. And you're thinking to yourself, "What do you mean? We are already doing something about this. Don't you watch the news?"

Yes, I do. And quite frankly, I'm DISGUSTED. Instead of paying attention to the needs of the now distraught families, we automatically yell for more gun control. We sign petitions to the white house stating that all guns need to be taken from us and destroyed. We demand that guns are evil, guns kill people, guns are the cause of all of this.

For those of you who feel this way, I must say I don't understand your way of thinking. How can a gun kill someone? Does it grow an arm to pull its own trigger? Does it pick itself up off the ground to aim at someone to take their life? Does it fill its own magazine or chamber its own rounds before shooting itself?

The simple answer is no. Now, I'm not the first to say this, but we should all know what it means. Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

If a gun kills people, so do knives, bombs, forks, pencils, nail clippers, pillows, and plastic bags. Countless people have died from stabbings, bombings, asphyxiation, etc., but we never scream for "knife control" or "plastic bag control." So why guns? Why choose this weapon out of the hundreds of other things people use to kill and/or harm?

I would like to blame the media. If the media didn't focus so much of their time on how people died, how people are violent, and how things are getting so much worse when statistically they're not, we wouldn't have these problems.

Have you ever looked up the statistics for violence? If you have, then you know that violence has actually decreased these past few years. I can already feel you think I'm wrong. Go ahead, look it up. Do you know why you think I'm wrong? Because you only depend on the news. You believe everything you see and hear on the television and the radio, and what you read on the news.

But I'm getting a tad off of the real reason I'm writing this. Let me get back to my thoughts on those who want to rid us of our guns.

Think about this. Say gun control becomes strict and a law abiding citizen is no longer able to have their rights to the 2nd amendment (Do you remember what that amendment states? We have the right to bare arms.) Say all of the guns a law abiding citizen owns is taken away. Sure, it will make the gun control savvies feel safe...until a criminal comes out of the wood work and shoots more people.

Why did this happen, you ask? You got your laws passed you wanted. You took away the guns and locked them away from the law abiding citizens, but the criminal still had a gun and shot people!

Do you really believe taking guns away will make criminals behave? Has it ever worked like that in the past?

Law abiding citizens don't shoot people. Normal people like you and me don't wake up in the morning and say to ourselves, "Hey, let's go out and commit mass murder!" No, we follow our laws, we respect our rights, and we do the best we can in life.

Fact: There have been many numerous cases of law abiding citizens who have a CPL (concealed pistol license) SAVING people from criminals who try to gun them down. CPL carriers have saved themselves by using their right to bare arms from criminals who don't follow the laws like we do.

Do you remember a year or so ago, that young women with the baby who shot the man breaking into her house who threatened her life? She called 911 and even asked if she was able to shoot the man in order to protect herself and her family. And after it was all done, she was praised for protecting herself and her baby. She didn't want to kill the man, she merely wanted to stop him from committing harm. She wasn't thrown in prison. She is still living her life. She's still alive.

If we have gun control that takes our 2nd amendment away from us, what's going to happen to the victims of future crimes similar to this? Would that mother still be alive today had she not been able to exercise her rights?

All I want is for people to stop and really think about this. We choose our actions. We decide how we are going to go through life day by day. We have the capability to figure out what's logical and what's not.

I want people to realize that we are responsible for ourselves. I want people to stop judging how others will act just because they happen to own an AR-15, which by the way, just because someone owns one, doesn't mean they're gonna kill someone with it. Don't condemn every person that has a gun for these catastrophes. It is NOT our fault. It is the individual who pulled the trigger. It is the individual who got up that morning, made a horrible plan, and carried it out.

Don't blame the rest of us because you're scared. Instead, I recommend you do your homework. Get educated before you speak. For example, because the NRA makes a statement about the CT tragedy doesn't mean they only care about their guns. The members of the NRA have families too. Some of them have children of the same age of those who were killed. For all we know, some of the parents who lost their children that day could be part of the NRA.

They're people too. They know pain. And nobody is perfect, by any means. But they didn't tell that young man to steal a gun and kill with it.

Think before you act and don't judge or condemn those who may not necessarily agree with you on everything. If you are someone who doesn't like guns, that is your decision. You don't have to like guns. But don't tell me all gun owners are bad news.

I have a CPL. And I am not ashamed of it. I don't carry in hopes that something like this happens. I carry it because I want to be prepared if I have to protect my life or the life of someone I love and care for. And I carry because I have the right to. And I like to exercise the rights given to me.

I am by no means saying if someone had a concealed pistol in that school that this could have been stopped. I am not in that position to say so. What is done is done and nothing can change it. But we can learn from this. We can hold those we love close. We can educate ourselves and learn to see from someone else's shoes. We can try to understand each other's sides and work together.

This country needs a lot of work. And I personally believe with everything that I have learned that the two biggest things that DO need to change are politics and the media. Politicians are known liars. They deceive with words and do what they please. They take our money and put it in their pockets. And they fund the media so that they look like the good guys.

And the media goes right along with it. They spout how a little boy gets shot and skip over the story about a young girl who had an idea that changed an entire community. How much happier would we be if we heard more of the good stories, which there are more of than the violence we are always hearing? 

I dare say we would have a different view on things, wouldn't you agree?

I'm not asking you to agree with me per se. I just want you to try and understand. All I ask is that you think about all of this. Think about the truth in everything and not just what you hear on tv.

I pray this country does the right thing. I pray we stand and fight for our freedoms and end this political and media driven war that is turning us against each other. But whether things get better is entirely up to us.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas. I hope the new year is brighter and things get better.

I pray the families in Connecticut, as well as other families who lost someone near and dear to senseless violence find peace. Keep them in your thoughts as well.

Until next time, dear readers.

Chelsea