In the Nov. 6 Voice of the people, six letters addressed the issue of gun violence in the nation’s schools. One urged parents to communicate more with their kids. Another called for youth groups where kids can communicate without their parents around. A third said that children need to be exposed to more information about violence in America today, while a fourth decried all the violence that children are exposed to in the popular media.
Only one letter out of the six dared to promote a solution that is real and direct. Ban guns. After all, can therapy, communication or media censorship really bring an end to teenage angst? No. Can we defy natural history and somehow engineer a new kind of teenager who is not emotionally volatile, occasionally irrational, prone to raging hormones, self-absorption, peer pressure and poor judgment? Nope. Angry teenagers will not go away. And the only difference between an angry teenager and an angry teenager who shoots someone is a gun.
Out of six well-intentioned letters, only one dared to propose the only solution that would prevent every single horrific shooting from taking place in America today. Ban guns.
