We have a problem

The number of school shootings in the United States is a problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible.

Surely, reasonable people would agree with that statement, even if they agree on almost nothing else regarding the issue of guns in our country.

The first step, as they say, is admitting you have a problem. That should be the starting point, and all sides in the debate over guns in America should be willing to start there, even as they argue and bicker over how to get to the ending point — which should be the day when there is no longer a need for active-shooter drills in our schools.

I’m not anti-gun. I own a handgun — purchased for self-defense some time ago after two sources told me that a local public official had discussed the idea of shooting me. True story. I enjoy shooting it at the local gun range. Otherwise, it remains locked in a safe at home that only I can open. At some point, I plan to obtain a concealed-carry license, because the gun is useless for self-defense if said public official — or anyone else — confronts me outside my home.

Both of my sons work in law enforcement and carry handguns every day as part of their jobs. I understand the need for them to do so. They have to be able to defend themselves and I wouldn’t want them to do the work they do without that ability.

Still, I believe our nation has a problem with gun violence that must be addressed. Again, that should be the starting point.

I know: Guns don’t kill people, people do. The guns just make it way more efficient. They make it easier for an angry teenage loner to kill 21 people at an elementary school. They make it easier for a 64-year-old man to kill 60 people and injure more than 400 from a sniper’s perch on the Las Vegas strip. They make it easier for a young man to kill 10 people in a supermarket in Buffalo.

Having said that, no one is coming for your guns and I’m not advocating that they do. Nor am I advocating for a ban on guns. Not only is that the wrong approach, it’s also supremely impractical. It would be like trying to ban socks. Guns are everywhere in America and that’s not going to change. Guns are glamorized in movies, music, television and video games. They’re a firmly established component of American life. That’s just the truth.

Another truth is that people DO kill people. In a society where violence is depicted so routinely, it’s no wonder that some small percentage of people develop violent tendencies and are desensitized to the finality of death.

A friend pointed out during a breakfast discussion last week that he’s been playing violent video games for decades and he’s never killed anyone. Sure, and maybe that’s true for 99.9999 percent of people. But it only takes one person with a mental defect or a lack of compassion for his fellow man or maybe even just the curiosity to kill. It only takes one person and a few minutes to destroy 21 lives. Or 60.

Yes, there are other ways to kill, but that doesn’t mean we should quit trying to stop gun violence. That would be like saying we should halt all cancer research because people also die from heart attacks.

Solving the issue of gun violence in America — especially gun violence involving schools — will require compromise. It will require work. It will require a long, hard look at how we got here — and not just at the gun issue but also issues like mental health treatment and school security. It won’t be easy. But what we can’t do is to simply ignore it. We can’t just accept it as the cost of doing business. For the sake of our children and our grandchildren and their children and grandchildren, we just can’t accept it.

We have a serious problem. We should all agree on that.

And if we don’t change something, we won’t change anything.

Scott Loftis is managing editor for Carroll County Newspapers. His email address is SLoftis@cherryroad.com.