by Kenneth Harper
Georgia Law Enforcement Officer

Written in response to a Baysides news article

A mechanic uses "tools" for his/her trade. Many have killed with those "wrenches, screwdrivers, pipes, tools.

A secretary uses "tools" for his/her trade. Many have killed with those "letter openers, staplers, pens, tools.

A carpenter uses "tools" for his/her trade. Many have killed with those "hammers, knives, nail guns, you know "tools".

One of these days we will wake up and see that the tools of a trade are not our problem. We will eventually see that society is the problem in itself. Instead of asking how children are getting guns, ask why? What is driving our children to turn to guns? Why are they using these guns now, when 20 years ago, they were even more available and not used near as often.

One of many answers is the fact that parents put their children in front of 3 to 9 hundred acts of violence per day. This includes national TV, video games, movie theaters, etc. We have learned over the past 25 years that violence is natural. To shoot and kill is "fun." We have desensitized children from feeling remorse, when it comes to hurting others.

I admit we have a problem in our society. The problem is not guns, but the way we are raising our children. The problem is the fact that everyone wants to help, but no one wants to do it the hard way. The problem is that it's easier to destroy guns overnight, than to teach our children morals over their first 6 years. The problem is legislators pass these "feel good" laws to make people think they are doing something. To make themselves feel like they are earning their money. I believe some honestly think they are helping, but we have to wake up and deal with the real problems. 90% of crimes committed with firearms are carried out by people that "laws" "prevent" from having them.

Here is a perfect example of how our society is: A 13 year old wakes up at 2 in the morning. He is bored, so he takes dads car and picks up 3 friends. They get drunk or drugged up. They go around vandalizing whatever comes into their path. They drink or "smoke" a little more and eventually crash at 5 a.m. It kills 2 of the 4 and the 27 year old mom and her 2 children. This is horrific, but the first questions our society asks are: Where were the police? Where were the parents? What were these boys doing out at this hour? No one says, oh my, look what that car did. No one blames the car. Place a gun in that scenario, instead of the car and what do you have. All the blame turns to the gun. "oh my, look what guns are doing to our society". Where did they get that gun? Guns are no different than they were 1000 years ago, but consequences are much different. 

Guns are a necessary part of society. We need them to protect ourselves. We need them to ward off criminals. If guns are wiped out, what does the criminal have to fear? If you think that the police will be there exactly when you need them, you are extremely naive. Society has an average of 1 officer to every 20,000 people. In a lot of municipalities, it's much lower than that. Most agencies are only able to respond to an incident after it happens. If some crazed idiot breaks into your house and is intent on killing you, you had better have some form of protection, because your local officer is probably across town handling a false burglar alarm or a complaint about nuclear strikes in Bosnia. Bear arms and protect yourself and loved ones!