The Covenant School Mass Shooting Event

 The Covenant School, in Nashville Tennessee, now takes it place in a long line of sorrow. The United States of America witnessed its 129th mass shooting on Monday, March 27, 2023, with three adults and three children gunned down, and then the shooter killed by Nashville police. (A mass shooting is defined by the FBI as an incident in which four or more individuals are murdered by firearms involving one or more shooters.)

Where is the public outrage?

Covenant School, a private K-6 institution, instructs about 200 students. Now three students are dead. The shooter, who apparently planned the attack with some degree of accuracy, was armed with an assault-style rifle, an assault-style pistol, and a handgun, according to police on the scene.

Why does this keep occurring?

A friend of the shooter has told police she received a text about 1 hour before the event, in which the shooter explained she was going to die by suicide today, and it would be in the news. The friend called Nashville police to report the incident. It has not been made public yet how the police responded to that information.

The President and other government officials have, as usual offered "thoughts and prayers."

Three 9-year old children and three middle-aged adults are dead. Shot by a person who may have had some mental instability, armed with assault-style weapons and "a massive amount" of ammunition.

Jim Jordan wants to investigate Hunter Biden's laptop.

There are no simple one and done solutions to the gun violence issue in the United States of America. It is inconceivable to me in a country with the ability to divide the atom, put a man on the moon, and lead the world's democratic nations, we cannot even begin to have a logical, solution-oriented discussion on this subject.

In stark contrast to the Uvalde shooting last May, the police were on the scene and killed the shooter within 14 minutes of the first active shooter phone call. Truly, a remarkably fast and effective response; they deserve congratulations for a job well done, in a very difficult situation.

What is so difficult to understand? The American public is tired of mass shooting events.

The typical, reliable, non-effective non-responses will be forthcoming. Thoughts and prayers will come from every politician's lips, and empty promises of action. Some will proclaim it is a mental health issue, others will proclaim it a gun control issue, and nothing-absolutely nothing-will be done. Congress, in a fashion we are well schooled in, will not upset its donors or vocal minorities.

It's of paramount importance to defend America against woke ideologies.

As I said earlier, there is no one and done on this issue. There are definite, concrete steps forward that will begin to reduce the mass shootings in this country; they sadly will require two items Congress currently doesn't have.

Leadership and testicles.

It "only" took 15 ballots and 4 days to elect Kevin McCarthy Speaker of the House. According to Speaker McCarthy, this shows that republicans know how to govern. WHAT?

You all know I have opinions, some of which you might not agree with, but I encourage and look forward to that polite dissent. So here is my laundry list of items for Congress to enact.

The Second Amendment states, and I quote; "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Nothing I propose here is designed to interfere with the Second Amendment, nor do I propose to interfere with that document.

All of these should be introduced as single line bills, that is, the only issue on the bill is (this one). In this manner, a Congressman's constituents will be able to judge where he or she sits on each issue.

Just prior to the voting on each bill, the Congressman or woman will state for the record the total amount of money he or his campaigns have accepted from any gun lobby, weapons manufacturer, sporting groups, or any pro-gun organization, for the entire time he/she has been in politics.

The first item on Congress' to-do list is to mandate health insurance companies to provide, at the same rate as physical health, mental health checkups and treatment.

The next item would be to enact national red flag laws; this would alleviate a person not eligible to own a gun in one state from purchasing one in another state.

Next, institute universal background checks, including gun shows and individual sales, to refuse the sale of firearms to those not qualified to possess them.

Congress shall mandate all weapons manufactured after the enactment of this bill shall have biometric trigger locks installed at the time of manufacture.

Trigger locks shall be required on all pre-owned firearms sold by any person or firm.

Repeal the "Firearm Owner's Protection Act" of 1986; then institute a mandated national registry of firearms sold by any source from this date forward.

Liability insurance shall be mandated for all firearms owned.

Renew the assault weapons ban, and place a ban on high-capacity magazines.

Well, there you have it, my partial solutions to the gun violence issue in this country. I am not supportive of confiscation of firearms (except under lawful mandate of the court); nor am I anti-gun-ownership. I enjoy target shooting, have enjoyed hunting, and see not reason for others not to enjoy the same. I am also realistic enough to understand the probability of any of the above happening is slim to none. But, what the heck, I thought I'd put it out there anyway.

Thanks for reading, I am looking forward to your responses. To leave a comment, just click the word "comment" in the space below.

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Ten Hot Summer Days

Ten hot summer days. In that space of time, 34 people were killed in mass shootings, and another 63 were injured. The alleged (?) shooters were white males, between the ages of 19 and 24. Two of the shooters are dead, the third is in jail. Although different guns were used, they all were high-capacity "assault rifles," and all were purchased "legally;" however, there is some evidence they may have been illegally transported across state lines. We may never know if the three gunmen knew each other, though some evidence suggests the killer in the El Paso murders may have been influenced by the Dayton shooting. Certainly, we will never positively know what factors drove the Dayton and Gilroy shooters to commit their crimes, as they are dead; but we may gain some insight into the thought patterns of the El Paso killer; he is still alive.

None of the above facts will bring back the 34 victims of these killers, nor will they erase the images captured in the minds of those wounded or who witnessed the shootings. And none of the above facts will do anything to stop the carnage that seems to be overwhelming our country.

There are things that can be done to reduce the risk of these types of mass murders re-occurring, and while they are small steps, they may be a beginning to some solutions. I'd like to express my thoughts on some of those ideas. You may say, after reading this, these ideas won't work, and I agree they will not solve all the problem. But, what we have been doing so far certainly hasn't worked very well, has it? It's time for some critical thinking.

The first, and perhaps the easiest one to implement, is to require national registration at the time of purchase or transfer of any and all firearms. This includes sales at gun shows, pawn shops, and sales by private individuals, including collectors. Believe it or not, only six states and the District of Columbia currently require firearm registration; and not all firearm types need to be registered, even in those states. Currently, seven states completely prohibit the registration of firearms. The other 37 states neither require or prohibit registration. This legislation should also include an insurance clause; that is, you must be able to prove liability insurance for the firearm. The legal age to purchase any firearm should be the same in all 50 states, and the District of Columbia. This does not mean that young Sally and Johnny cannot learn how to handle a firearm, or hunt; it just means they cannot purchase or own a gun.

I said this idea would be easy to implement, but the "Firearms Owners' Protection Act" of 1986 prohibits a national registry. So, this portion of the Reagan-era law would have to be overturned.

Some say this is the first step toward confiscation of privately owned firearms. Get real, people. You are required to register and insure your vehicles, which are also capable of killing and wounding people. It's not that different after all.

The three shootings under discussion meet the federal description of domestic terrorism, to wit: they are a)"dangerous to human life"; b) intended to "intimidate or coerce a civilian population;" or c) influence government by "intimidation or coercion" or "mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping." While federal law defines domestic terrorism, it does not make it a federal crime to commit acts of domestic terrorism. Wait a minute, we have a law defining acts of domestic terrorism, but no federal penalty for committing such acts? Yep, you got it. The FBI can become involved to assist state agencies, but the individuals responsible for these acts can only be prosecuted under state laws. Why does this matter? First, the FBI does not have to get involved in cases of this type, although I understand they are involved in these three. Second, the FBI can look beyond state borders at the relationship these types of criminals may have with other like-minded individuals, and bring charges where appropriate. Third, if domestic terrorism is a crime under federal law, stiffer penalties are a distinct possibility.

The second thought I propose then, is to pass a law making domestic terrorism a federal crime. Congress, can you stop pointing fingers at each other long enough to get this done?

Third, and this thought strikes very close to home for all of us: every person in America should demand of our elected officials that they do not denigrate populations of social backgrounds, wealth, country of origin, race, or sex as a whole. That is to say: Our President, and other elected officials, should never say or imply that all people from Pluto are murderers, rapists, or thieves; or that those with green skin are low-lifes, losers, or pathetic. This type of speech is antithetical to American ideals.

Besides, speech of this nature makes simple-minded people self-righteous, and then they do bad things. Very bad things, which can affect all of us in ways we cannot fathom.

Thank you for reading; as always, your comments are welcome.

R.M. "Bob" Hartman

Data on firearm registration taken from https://ballotpedia.org/Firearm_registration_requirements_by_state

Retrieved August 6, 2019; it is "as of Jan 1, 2019"

USA PATRIOT ACT, 2001