Heels and Handguns

The tragedy in Colorado has seen it’s share of knee-jerk gun control comments by journalists reading teleprompters and saying whatever their network wants them to say.  There have also been a few politicians who are using this platform to nudge folks their way.  I saw an interview with Colorado Governor Hickenlooper today on MSNBC and was impressed by his direct decision NOT to blame guns in this massacre, but rather the mental illness or other evil we find resident in our society.  When asked directly about gun control discussions he said, “I think that debate’s going to happen. It already has started, but you look at this person, again, almost a creature. I mean if he couldn’t have gotten access to the guns, what kind of bomb would he have manufactured?”

Given the fact that it is usually democrats that vie to increase gun control, I was very surprised by his statement.  I try to go easy on the politics on this blog overall, and I know many, many democrats that are staunch supporters of the 2nd Amendment.  Still, from a democratic politician, this was refreshing.

Then, later in the evening, during the memorial, he made another comment I fully support.  He said, “I refuse to say his name, In my house, we’re just going to call him Suspect A.”  This is a simple decision that I wish all of the world could agree to. Let’s not make this man a celebrity, let’s call him suspect A, let’s avoid showing his pictures.  Let’s erase him and give him no fame.  He is nothing. Let’s instead celebrate the lives of those cut short.

The Wall Street Journal suggested, “rather than head off again into the political cul-de-sac of gun control, we instead debate one of the implications of Mr. Hickenlooper’s observation: How society can better detect and treat mental illness.”  This is brilliant.  People who are against responsible gun ownership are at their best actually again gun crimes, and at their worst against a nation’s people retaining force comparable to the government. (Which is why we have the 2nd Amendment, to protect us from a tyrannical government.)  For those actually only against “gun crime”, if they spent the funds trying to discover and cure mental illness that they do fighting the NRA and other 2nd Amendment supporters, maybe spree shootings could be thwarted more often.

I am not sure we will find the answers we are looking for, but I do think that the Governor of my state is doing good work leading through this nightmare.