Guns Have Got to Go!

I have been thinking about this for many months now and just when shooting deaths slow down a bit or I don't hear about them, I put my thoughts on the back burner. Last week with the killings at schools in Wisconsin and Colorado and now (just came over the news) Amish 1 room school house in Pennsylvania, where I don't know how many innocent children were murdered or injured, really upset me. Is there any safe place in American anymore? We just can't allow anyone to have guns (including myself for hunting) because of all the mental cases out there with them. Let's everyone get rid of them! I know you say then "Only criminals will have guns" or "Guns don't kill people kill people". It should be deranged people with guns kill people. Let's not make it so easy. Yes we will have to sacrifice a lot and take the chance, but far less folks will be killed without the access to guns.

I hunt with a bow and arrow now and it takes many hours of practice to perffect it, and 99 percent of the time if your are hunting an animal, one only gets one shot. With a gun anyone can pull a trigger with the blink of an eye, with no practice at all!!

Our football coach and shop teacher Allen Ronberg, who was loved by everyone at Norway High School, took a gun, hung it from the rafters and shot himself. We couldn't believe it at the time. Same thing for Ernest Hemming way and countless others. Without guns suicides would decrease dramatically. I have no stats on any of this stuff but know it is true.

In Seattle we had a high school boy accidently shoot his own brother last week, let alone all the gang bangers with guns shooting up cars and people and it seems like almost every day. With over 50,000 deaths a year caused by guns it is time for them to go. Even police officers can't have them unless someone is holed up and armed with one. It may be a small percent of Americans that can change our way of life but that is how it will have to be.

Look what 19 terrorists did to our lifestyle!! It is the price we all have to pay. I (and maybe you do too) remember not so many years ago, that you could get on an airplane with out even an I.D. or being searched. Now we are all searched at any large or even small gathering, weddings, football games or any sporting events and I can, even if I don't like it, understand why!!

Just a short time after the Columbine massacre, I was going to sit in class with one of my grandaughters at school, arranged by my daughter. When I got there I had to show proof of who I was and be searched before I could enter the school. At the time I was a taken aback a little and thought they might be over reacting to things. I was totally wrong and they were totally right. Sad, but that is how it has to be now days.

Just to give you another idea of how much has changed. Up until about 10 years ago many of the small 1 room school houses that existed in northern Minnesota, Michigan and other very rural small schools in the United States, would allow the high school kids to bring shot guns to school to hunt ruffed grouse, rabbits or pheasants on the way home after school.

Maybe instead of spending billions trying to make the Iraqi people free we should spend that money right here in America and help keep our country free before it is too late. Something is dreadfully wrong with our society and it needs fixing.

These are my thoughts right or wrong.

Joe