Today has been a very good day. I got to spend lots of time with my children, which is always a bright spot to my weekend. They are my world, and the reason why I get up and go to work everyday. They are the reason (my wife included) I went back to school to try to get a better job and ensure they have a better future. So, while they are taking a nap from their busy day with Dad, I made the mistake of reading the news.

I can not imagine going to school one day and having all of that taken away. Going into a place where I am trying to expand my mind and never coming home. That was a risk I had when I was in the military, not as a civilian in the United States, one of the greatest counties on Earth. Yet, somehow, this is becoming a phenomenon that has to be reconciled.

I have never been an advocate of taking away someone’s rights. I am not that type of person, because, I would not someone taking away my rights as a human. Here in the Untied States, we have a Constitutional Right to have weapons. There is nothing wrong with that fundamental right. You can have a mini arsenal in your back yard for all I care, so long as you respect my rights as well, and you understand that in having that arsenal you are taking on a big responsibility. There are moral and other personal obligations that come with owning a firearm. If you are up for that task, then by all means, enjoy your AR-15.

It is when you hear stories, like the recent shootings in Arizona and Oregon, that you have to wonder, what is the root cause of all of this? Where did we start going so far gone in this country? Where do we start to repair the damages and get back to a place where people actually respected life? Is gun control the answer to all of this? Is deregulating restrictions on firearms the way to go?

In my humble opinion, it starts with our families. My mom, even though she was a single mother, took the time to teach me morals, values, to respect myself, and to respect others. I have a value system that is firmly planted.  There are many families today that are moving so fast and are so far removed from each other, that values are being taught from the television sets, movies, or social media. This is a sad to me, to think that there is very little time to teach our children the ways of life, and to let that be taken over by someone else. I am not saying this is the case everywhere, but it is one that happens more often than not lately.

The next thing, I am cool with you having a gun. I am fine with you having to register it. I think that the background checks should stay in place, and that we should boost that with a little bit of mental history checking. I am not saying that people with issues, like myself included in this, should not have the same rights as everyone else. I am saying that it should be checked out to see if you have the mental capacity to handle a weapon with respect. And, while we are at it, thrown in a mandatory gun safety and maintenance class while you are at it. I think that everyone should understand the power that comes along with the owning of a gun.

There is no way, that I can say that this would solve 100% of any of the gun crime issues that we have in this country today. I know that it will not, and it is a fallacy to yourself and others if you think that it would. There is no easy solution to this at all. There is no way to prevent gun crimes from happening as long as there are weapons in the world. No way at all. And even if any of my ideas were implemented, people would still end up with them who shouldn’t, and that is because no matter what, people will find what they are looking for, either legally or illegally.

I pray for the souls of the victims, the individuals wounded, the heroes, and the villains in both Oregon and Arizona. I pray that this country starts to value life and other humans as they should, and that we all can see that everyone is a child of God and deserves respect. Amen.