Callous people are attempting to use the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. to advance their pet political cause, namely greater restrictions on the private possession of firearms. The lead stories in today’s, Dec. 17, Philadelphia Inquirer and Delaware County Daily Times are both quasi-editorials pushing for more gun control.
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste,” as Rahm Emanuel would say.
OK, we can play that game. We are proposing the Respect for Life Act. This law would ban abortion in order to create a culture where it’s inconceivable to take an innocent life with premeditation. Mass, random school shootings targeting children really didn’t start in this country — Olean, NY in 1974, San Diego in 1979 — until after Roe v. Wade was decided so one can’t deny a correlation. Certainly can’t hurt anything, right?
But we want to take it further. We want it taught to all that there will be a universal accounting for the acts they do while they breath. So our bill will include a requirement that the 10 Commandments be placed on every school room wall — the Talmudic division is fine — and that each day begin with the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer with special emphasis on the “lead us not into temptation” and “deliver us from evil” parts.
While this law would go a long way into making our schools, and society, as safe as they were in 1960 it would still not be enough, though.
And that is why we are also proposing the Bring Back The Cuckoo’s Nest Act. This law would once again give families, and society, the ability to incarcerate their loved ones in mental facilities if they should display behavior indicating a tendency for irrational violence to themselves or others.
One personally knows at least three people who committed acts of gun violence — including a mass shooting — who would have been locked away before the deed in saner times.
Dear Bill,
While some of the above proposed ideas have merit, I think the concepts need overall refinement.
Obviously, creating a culture that respects human life is necessary in order to sustain a healthy civilization.
However, passing a law, itself, will not create a Culture of Life.
Our country suffers from a lack of moral clarity and it desperately needs a spiritual revival.
Such a task is also a job for parents, churches, and schools.
Still, laws are needed to protect unborn human life–and the elderly–but I would not include the teaching of the Ten Commandments in such a bill.
Further, ‘Bringing Back the Cuckoo’s Nest Act’ has its problems.
First–I would call this act something else, like the ‘Stop Violent Behavior Act.’
Second–the act should contain a measure that safeguards the rights of the individual.
For Example–no one should be
incarcerated without a legal public hearing–and a jury verdict.
Hope these suggestions lead to further discussion and action.
All the best,
Don Adams
Thank you for the thoughtful comments, Don
You gotta have public hearings but to say you need a jury verdict is like saying you need a jury verdict to stop an Alzheimer’s sufferer from leaving the rest home.
Common sense must come back.