Like most of the country this week, my friends and colleagues have been talking about the Florida school shooting, and arguing over the, "guns vs mental health" issues. To me, it is like rearranging chairs on the titanic. It can be one, the other, both, or neither, but the fucking ship is going down.
Let's step back a moment and recognize when someone is depressed they ask if you feel like you are gonna hurt yourself or others for a valid reason. People in crisis shouldn't have guns. That doesn't mean you with your anxiety are being targeted, nor are people who are responsible guns owners.
I have a valid pistol permit and I own a gun. I don't really like guns or feel safer having one in the house. But I did the responsible thing and got educated. If I got really depressed, I hope my husband would take away my access to it. I would hope the people who love me would help me protect myself and others. That's not a bad thing.
We need to have civil discussions or there will be no answer. No gun control, no responsible heath care help. No anything but the same violence in crisis. No child is born angry enough to shoot 17 people and kill them. It's takes years to devolve to a point where you believe this is the answer. Many failures in society allow that to happen. Guns and mental health, social services, community, poverty, education, heath care, all failed this kid and he killed. He's accountable, but so are all of us for spending more time arguing and less time doing things to fix this. I don't have the answer as I sit and type this, but screaming about why you are right and someone else is wrong won't either. We all want less death. Lets talk to each other.
Thanks for checking in.
~Leticia @nytowl