GUN COUNTRY

Here's the situation.  

We're a gun country. We're only 239 years old. We've owned guns and carried guns since we got here. We've used them to hunt food and defend ourselves. In the early years we were armed wherever we went. 

We haven't given up those guns. Guns are part of the American theme. Out of a population of 313 million people, almost half are estimated to have guns in their possession. Some of them own more than one gun. In America, there are an estimated 300 million firearms in the country. 

Guns are woven into the fabric of the American heritage. The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution gives citizens of this country the right to own and possess firearms. Guns were used to both colonize the country and tear it in half. 

If you live in  gun country, it makes sense to own and to carry a gun. If someone in that elementary school in Connecticut had access to a firearm when the shooter broke in, 20 children and six adults might be alive today. How do we defend ourselves from someone who wants to use a gun to kill us? Do we run and hide and hope the gunman doesn't find us or do we fight back?

Most Americans would think it inappropriate to have security personnel with loaded weapons patrolling the halls of elementary schools. They'd  find it uncomfortable admitting  that they live in a country where deranged people can go into those schools and murder their children and that only armed guards can prevent that from happening.But what's the alternative? How do we protect ourselves and those in our charge if we have no way of doing so? If unstable people have access to lethal weapons then we need to have access to them as well. Given the events of 911, we have armed air marshals on board commercial airline flights. 

Gun laws don't stop gun violence. Gun laws don't stop psychotics from obtaining lethal weapons. Gun laws don't stop mass murderers. 

If we've reached the point where teachers and administrators in our schools need to be armed to protect our children, then so be it. Accept the fact that we live in a gun country where those most vulnerable to attack must have a means of defending themselves. And although these incidents of gun violence are few when compared to the millions of people who own guns, they happen. 

The attacks of 911 resulted in new security measures at airports. The killings at the elementary school in Connecticut will change the ways we protect our children.