Why would a human being do something like this to other human beings? Evil. You can’t “ban” evil any more than you can “ban” earthquakes.

As for “thoughts and prayers,” many “thoughts and prayers” statements come from people who don’t think and won’t pray and just use it for virtue signaling or as an excuse to defer any personal responsibility or lack of action. There is no reason to do good or avoid evil when it has no final consequences in eternity. History has no meaning when God does not direct the course of events. Why bother obeying laws if you don’t believe in God?

All long-term decisions should be based on logic, credible research, and factual evidence, not emotions, opinions, or polls. An ill-formed, emotionally charged, temporal debate criminalizes defensive devices rather than objectively observing the world history of armed people. The ramification of proposals that lead to disarmament through deceptive descriptions of situations is a totalitarian state. Gun control laws are at least ineffective at controlling violent crime, and at worst, cause an increase by disarming honest citizens and depriving them of their natural right to effective self-defense and instincts of self-preservation.

The private ownership of guns gives the Constitution its final foundation and assurance of effect. The Second Amendment was crafted to ensure the ability of the people of the United States to protect themselves against criminal intruders and tyrannical government oppression. The use of firearms for the purpose of hunting is a secondary utilitarian application. The Constitution is only as strong as those willing to defend it.

There will always exist criminally and mentally deranged individuals behaving without respect to laws. Demonizing the tools does not address the cause of psychological anomalies and malfunctions. Investigative organizations’ records indicate legally obtained firearms in the hands of trained individuals are both safe and not found in connection with criminal events.

Everyone cares about the lives that are lost. The problem is not guns but societal decay. These crimes originate in the minds of their perpetrators. These minds can be clouded with a wide variety of media including despair and sensationalizing by news platforms, violent movies, violence on streaming platforms, and games. Culture is the problem. Our entertainment media celebrate drugs, rape, gangs and murder and make millions off scenes of crime, murder, sex and gunfights. A nihilistic society paired with unconstitutional restrictions added fuel to the fire.

Joseph Kelly

Highlands Ranch