Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, June 16, 2021 — Page 5
Michael N. Searles
CALLING SOMETHING BY ITS NAME
Bird dog
Continued from 4
With the celebration of Na
tional Gun Violence Awareness
Day, various groups met and
called for action across the na
tion. The words were powerful
and sincere as family members
of gun violence victims told
their stories. Some of the
deaths were at the hands of law
enforcement officers while oth
ers came from the gun violence
endemic in our communities.
There are no hiding places
in America where violence
cannot strike at any moment.
The statistics were stagger
ing as the numbers killed and
wounded were rattled off like
machine gun fire. In many of
the presentations, there was
a careful delineation between
lawful gun owners and those
who acquired and used weap
ons illegally. Few identified
the problem as the presence
of guns in society and our
reverence for them. We are
so enamored with the “Right to
Own” a gun that we refuse to
acknowledge the damage gun
ownership can cause.
Guns do not make us safer
and are rarely used to fend off
someone breaking into our
homes. The guns we purchase
to defend ourselves are more
often used to kill ourselves.
According to a new national
APM Research Lab poll, sui
cide is the leading cause of
gun deaths in the United States.
Most Americans believe the
purchase of a gun will save
their lives and do not realize
that those guns are more likely
to take their lives. The APM
poll asked more than 1,000
Americans what they thought
was the leading cause of gun
deaths and found that 33% of
respondents chose homicides
outside of mass shootings,
while 25% thought that mass
shootings caused the most gun
deaths. Only 23% said suicides
were the leading cause .d The
remaining respondents chose
accidental shootings or said
they did not know. Unless the
public is informed,people will
continue to believe that when
crime increases, the solution
is to rush out and acquire a
handgun.
The answer is not more but
less guns. We must place
our faith in God and in those
charged with protecting us.
A lawful gun owner in Volu
sia County, Florida, prob
ably never thought his AK-47,
pump shotgun, handgun and
200 rounds of ammunition
would be used in the manner
in which they were. The two
kids who broke into his house
came unarmed, but when they
found weapons and ammuni
tion, they realized their wildest
fantasies. A 12-year old boy
and a 14-year old girl who ran
away from their Florida group
home broke into the gun own
er’s house, armed themselves,
and conducted a 30-minute
shootout with deputies. These
two children because of their
actions apparently will be tried
as adults. There was a certain
irony and tragedy to look at
the angelic face of 12-year old
Travis O’Brien as he was ad
dressed as Mr. O’Brien. The
young girl, Nicole Jackson,
was shot and wounded after
she came out of the garage and
pointed a shotgun at deputies.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said
almost prayerfully “None of us
want[ed] to see her die.” Ni
cole was taken to the hospital
after being shot in the chest and
abdomen where she is recover
ing from her injuries. Travis
O’Brien, 12, surrendered sec
onds later. No deputies were
injured in the incident, though
body-worn camera footage
released by the Volusia County
Sheriff’s Office showed the
children shooting at respond
ing officers. Two lives dam
aged if not destroyed because
of legally purchased guns that
two kids found and used. We
may never know the impact
on the deputies who shot and
seriously wounded Nicole
Jackson. Those officers went
home to their families and had
to ponder what they had done.
Shooting a dangerous felon
carries consequences. What
does the shooting of a child
carry? The two youngsters’
fascination with guns and a
cache of weapons found in the
home of a law-abiding gun
owner led to tragedy. What
would have happen if there
were no guns at that home?
It is likely that the outcome
would have been different.
We, as a society, should dem
onstrate that anger and conflict
must be resolved through con
ciliatory words, not guns.
and question their influence on
such issues but that is a lazy
excuse in my opinion. Schools
are asked to address every issue
that crops up in society today.
Burke County schools serve
their students two, and in some
instances, three meals a day
because a large portion of our
kids aren’t being fed at home.
Some of the time that’s an is
sue of poverty or resources, but
more and more, it is an issue of
poor parenting.
Ultimately, that is really what
this whole workforce issue
boils down to: what did you
learn at home? Were you taught
work ethic by example? Did
you grow up understanding
the concept of “honest work
for honest pay”?
There better be somebody
teaching that concept out there.
If not, arguing over an extra
$300 a week will be the least of
this country’s problems.
For more Burke County po
litical news, follow Bird Dog
Politics on Facebook.
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