|
From: Finbar
McMullen, FSC
When I think of this terrible catastrophe, my mind races to what could be done to prevent a repeat. No matter how hard we try, we will never be able to prevent some unbalanced person from getting a gun, and doing, once again, the unthinkable.
But there are some things we can do, such as latching every grade school classroom door from the inside, and installing wire mesh glass in classroom doors, as well as in all first floor windows. The idea of an inside latch needs a lot of fleshing out and might not be of help in high schools or colleges because the shooter could already be there.
One thing that should be done for all places is training in what a gun shot sounds like. Precious time was wasted at Sandy Hook because adults did not know what a gun shot sounded like. It is so unique that precious seconds and even minutes were wasted before calling 911. Just about all of these recent shooters were loners, or outcasts.
Even though they make up a small percentage of this group, their access to guns should be explored. No one ever expected they would do something like this.
Background checks must be expanded, but I think that the most important new measure would be to require every purchaser of a gun to bring it to a police station for a visible report every five years. This measure would be a terrible mess to administer, but, if we want to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, we need to do what it takes.
|
