Guns, Mental Health, and God

            As we discuss the latest school shooting in the United States, I am compelled to share my thoughts. I have been in public education for over 26 years. My career precedes Columbine. Since Columbine, the United States has endured 25 school shootings. Before we have time to grieve or bury the dead, the political pundits advocate for their side of the aisle. The national discussion about school safety has no singular cause or solution. Reasonable gun control, addressing the mental health needs of society, and acknowledging we have lost our faith are pillars of this debate.

            I am a believer in the 2^nd amendment. My personal gun safe has several handguns, shot guns, and hunting rifles. I am not anti-gun. That being stated, our freedoms are not unlimited. Our latest school shooter could not legally purchase a 6 pack of beer, but could legally purchase an assault rifle. The government is within its right to regulate the sales of weapons. According to a February poll conducted by Quinnipiac, support for universal background checks is itself almost universal, 97 - 2 percent, including 97 - 3 percent among gun owners. It also makes sense to delay purchases of all guns until 21. A younger individual would not be precluded from possessing or utilizing the weapon. The individual would be precluded from purchasing the weapon.

            According to the Washington Post, the United States spends over $100 billion on mental health treatment. That works out to about 5.6 percent of the national health-care spending. Mental health dollars mostly go toward prescription drugs and outpatient treatment. States cut $1.8 billion from their mental health budgets during the recession. As we have cut our mental health dollars, services, and institutions more of our mentally ill end up in prison. The departments of corrections are ill-equipped and not designed to treat mental illness. We may profess otherwise but the primary purpose of prison is to warehouse those individuals who have broken the norms of society.

            We must also acknowledge that the United States is now a secular country. In short, we have lost our faith. God was officially removed from schools in the early 1960s. In the Engel v. Vitale case in 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court made its first-ever decision on prayer in public schools. This was the first in a series of cases in which the Supreme Court of the United States used the establishment clause to eliminate religious activities in schools. These activities were traditionally a part of public school activities. It made its second in 1963—the Abington School District v. Schempp ruling, which made the corporate reading of the Bible and recitation of the Lord's Prayer unlawful in public schools. Although I understand that the government should not endorse one religion, in this case Christianity, over another religion, I believe the court went too far. Americans are promised a freedom of religion, not a freedom from religion. Any religion, be it Judaism, Christianity, Hindu, Buddhism, etc. provide a code of conduct. This moral code guides the believer. Certain things are right. Certain things are wrong. Over the last half century, those certainties and standards have been eroded.

            Do you remember when school was a sacred place? Do you remember when a teacher was revered/respected? Would you have ever gone home and complained about the actions of a teacher, that they were “mean” to you? Do you remember having your “school clothes” as compared to your play clothes (fyi- we also had bed clothes called pajamas and didn’t think to wear them to school)? In addition to the erosion of the sanctity that was our place of worship and our God, the school has become less ideal. Due to a change in societal attitude, we place the word of a child at the same level as the word of an adult. We question and challenge the role and authority of the teacher.

            We have devalued what it means to be an adult. People half my age have no problem addressing me by my first name. All too often I have heard adults of my generation, encourage the practice. We were raised to address adults with appropriate courtesies. If we put minors on the same level as adults, why would students not feel they are on the same level as teachers?

            Let the criticism begin. In today’s partisan society there is no room for compromise. If I express a desire for background checks, the right will condemn me. If I refuse to surrender my weapons, the left will condemn me. To say we have lost our faith, this sinner may be condemned as a religious zealot. Regardless we must understand that complex problems require serious solutions. No political purity test will solve the problem Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan used to argue during the day and eat dinner together at night. I ask us to acknowledge common sense compromise. I ask us to treat our mentally ill rather than imprison them. Finally, it is the duty of all believers to spread the word.