My heart is broken for Newton, CT

 

 

Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar

I've been struggling to write this post ever since I heard the first reports shortly after 9 am Friday morning (my time), about noon in Connecticut.

 

 Now I can't stop dwelling on it and crying for those poor babies and their protectors in heaven.

Please note, I am not posting the following to create controversy, but I need to express some of my thoughts and get things off my chest.  I'm speaking as someone who doesn't live in the US, but lives very close to the border and shops there regularly.

 

Being Canadian, and living with strict gun controls all my life, I am having a hard time understanding the resistance to bringing safety to communities, homes and families.  My only exposure to guns has been hunting rifles, which by law have to be locked in a gun safe and the ammunition stored separately in a separate location.  I don't even recall if I have ever seen a handgun (other than in the holster of a policeman) in my entire 52 years on this earth.  And it's not like I grew up sheltered, I am a military brat and was married to a military man who hunts.

 

Now that I have a better understanding of the lack of strong gun controls in the US, I am now scared to cross the border.  I did not realize that Washington state (only 30 minutes from my home) issues license to carry a loaded handgun before this past weekend.  What if a fight, robbery or even an innocent fender-bender took place, and some 'hero' decides to pull his gun? I am very thankful I feel safe to go about my business at home without having to worry about that. I am also grateful that my grandchildren can visit friends and family, knowing they are kept safe from innocently picking up a firearm.  (Don't get me wrong, we don't assume everyone locks their guns up, but if we don't know you, we will ask).

I believe in the right to bear arms - by the people who are trained to protect us - the police, the military, etc.  I also believe it is reasonable to have hunting rifles and even guns for sport, as long as the person is qualified and keeps his/her guns locked up and transports them safely to the gun range (here they have to be carried locked in the trunk).  I don't believe there is any need for high-capacity, semi-automatic guns that their only purpose is to kill.  I don't believe the b******t explanation that they are for hunting - how could you ever eat the meat after picking 100 or more bullets from the carcass?

Yes, bad guys will get guns.  We have had our share of tragedy of gun-related deaths in Canada as well.  But the harder you make it for the bad guys to get them, by controlling the purchase of them and locking them up so they can't be stolen from you, the less chance there is of another child being killed.  Who knows how many deaths have been prevented because someone has had a hard time finding a gun?

 

Please, please, if you own guns, keep them locked up with a combination safe that only you know the combination.  If you have a mentally ill person or depressed person in your household, please get rid of them.  We need to keep our children safe, and the only way to do that is to create more difficulty for the bad guys to get them.  Besides, how would you feel if your gun was used to kill someone because your gun was stolen from your home?

Now I'm off my soapbox and I'm going to look for some fabric to make some pillowcases for the Sandy Hook survivors. Becky at Quilter's Corner in New Milford, CT is collecting pillowcases for the children at Sandy Hook School. She is trying to collect around 600.  If you want to do the same, you can send them to her at:

Quilters Corner
312 Danbury Rd.
New Milford, CT. 06776