I too saw the gun show signs plastered with a red X on them a few weeks ago and was discouraged. Seems emotions run high at every turn and we have forgotten so much in our world of tragedies. We experience tragedies daily, from nearly 3,000 abortions (if you are a pro-lifer), to over 600k deaths by heart disease per year, to 40k+ deaths by suicide per year…

Ban gun free zones now: Do away with all signage at public schools or places that says, “Gun Free Zone,” and replace it with, “Staff May Be Armed.” Even if we do not arm any staff this simple declaration could possibly deter a would-be attacker.

Confront drugs: We all must begin to discuss the elephant in the room, and bring pressure on Big Pharma. Guns have existed for hundreds of years, and these sorts of mass shootings are a relatively new phenomena. What part does the use and abuse of mind altering NSRI drugs have to play? The NRA is a powerful lobby, but Big Pharma dwarfs it, up to 8 times by reports that I’ve read, yet they are given a “pass” when it comes to being at fault?

Destroy all lists and enforce existing laws: Remove all gun registration and background checks immediately, and instead actually punish everyone who commits a crime using a gun. You will call me crazy for this one but allow me to explain. I work with and use databases and search engines every day. When people create lists they, too, are much like guns—powerful tools for good or evil. It is my opinion that given the power of the new data technology, we must re-evaluate the collection, proliferation, security, and administration of all lists. Even under the most strict firewalls and security measures every database is vulnerable to hacking and manipulation. Consider who gets to say who is added and for what reason. Let’s say you were once prescribed an anti-depressant, would you like to have your name, provided by your doctor, be added to the list under compulsion of the government. Rather than cry for more extensive “lists” maybe we should discuss their validity. Recall that it was in the ’90s when over 1 million people were machete’d to death in Rwanda simply because they were on the wrong list.

All gun laws only serve to restrict good people from owning guns, good people obey laws. Criminals always will disobey laws. And lest we think we can simply eradicate AR15s and everything will be OK, recall the current crisis in Mexico, where they have very strict gun control and yet are experiencing some of the most nightmarish gun violence in their history.

My recommendation is to arm yourself friends, take responsibility to educate yourself on proper gun use, and become well-disciplined for the welfare of your family and those around you.

As our principal founder once said: “A free people ought to be armed, and disciplined.” — George Washington

Tyler Rogel

Enumclaw