The Gun Is Not The Problem

Investigators are still looking for answers after a 15-year-old girl opened fire inside her Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, just days before the Christmas break was scheduled to begin.

A student and a teacher were killed in the attack, and two other victims are in critical condition. Four more were injured and taken to the hospital, but two of them had been released by Monday night.

The Left is doing what they always do: Blowing the siren, demanding stronger gun controls.

An Ohio legislator is claiming, "This is not a gun problem."

Be informed, not misled.

By now, most of us have heard about the shooting last Monday in the Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin.

A quick look at what happened.

Abundant Life Christian School is a nondenominational school with 420 students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.

Officials say the suspect, 15-year-old student Natalie Rupnow, brought a handgun and started shooting in a study hall.

The 911 call came in just before 11 a.m. from a 2nd grader. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said, "Do let that soak in for a minute. A second-grade student called 9-1-1 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school."

Officers entered the school within four minutes, finding two dead and six injured. Investigators say the suspect took her own life.

Barbara Wiers, director of elementary and school relations for Abundant Life Christian School, said students "handled themselves magnificently" during the traumatic ordeal.

She said the school practices safety routines, but this time, the students knew it wasn't a drill. "When they heard, 'Lockdown, lockdown,' they knew it was real," she said.

Sixth Grader Ezra Grange said, "I heard gunshots and screaming and it was all really scary... I was like terrified, so were my friends."

The community gathered in a prayer service last night as investigators searched the alleged shooter's home and social media accounts. The suspect's parents are cooperating with investigators.

The Association of Christian Schools International released a statement saying, "ACSI is grieved by the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School, an accredited member in Wisconsin. We are praying for those who were injured, the families of the victims, and the entire school community, knowing that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted. We are thankful to law enforcement and first responders for their help."

Why does this keep happening?

The explanation, according to the public conversation, is "a number of things contributed to this shooting."

The motive was a combination of factors, they say.

A local educator, Laurie Tomasini, said, "I'm here because this is such a huge loss for our community, and it's just happening too often."

Pain and sorrow brought residents together as some called for families, children, and school staff to form deeper connections during a candlelight vigil.

"What I plead to you tonight is that we find a new way, a deeper way, a more meaningful way to connect with our community," said one resident. "Children to children, children to staff, families to families. We need to connect like we are tonight each and every day."

Gospel songs were sung as tears flowed from the eyes of those who attended the event.

With people asking, "Why does this happen?"

RE gun acquisition 

I understand that guns, or any other kind of violence, always evokes a strong emotional response to "do something," but that "something" must be the right thing.

To create laws that will actually stop criminals from getting guns, the first step should be to find out where criminals get the guns.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics within the Office of Justice Programs at the Department of Justice has published this report:

More than one in five prisoners in state or federal prisons (20.8%) possessed or used a firearm during their crime; 18.4% had or used a handgun.

A plurality – 43.2% - got their guns off the street or on the underground market which does not include gun shows, flea markets, or private sales. The underground market only includes “markets for stolen goods, middlemen for stolen goods, criminals or criminal enterprises, or individuals or groups involved in sales of illegal drugs.”

About ten percent (10.1%) acquired the gun from a retail source. This includes 8.2% who acquired it from a licensed dealer at a retail source. Just under 7% bought the firearm under their own name and then at least 6.7% underwent a background check; we say “at least” because some number of prisoners are unaware if a check was conducted. The remaining 3.3% includes people who may not be aware they were submitted to a check because, for many people, the check is completed instantly. As you know, federal law requires firearms dealers to conduct background checks.

A quarter (25.3%) of prisoners acquired the firearm they had at the time of their crime from an individual; 14.5% of these bought, traded, borrowed, or rented the gun from a family member or friend.

The other 10.8% were given the firearm as a gift or it was purchased for the prisoner.

Theft was not uncommon, at 6.4%, though not as common as anti-gun organizations would have you believe.

The remaining 17.4% cited some other source; 6.9% found it at the scene of the crime or it was the victim’s, 4.6% said the gun was brought by someone else, and 5.9% from “other” sources. This last category is a catch-all, including sources that are different from all of the other sources listed in the report. It is important to note that none of the types of “other” sources had enough responses to warrant their own category.

In other words, there weren’t enough prisoners saying they bought a gun online or from a stranger to categorize these straw-man arguments into categories. Some quick, math shows that just under 5,200 prisoners surveyed reported having a gun during their criminal offense.

Takeaway

At the time of this writing, the authorities have not told the public where the 15-year-old shooter in Madison got the gun she used.

Confiscating guns is clearly not the answer. It violates the Second Amendment, and it doesn't solve the problem.

For three years, one man has been taking crosses to communities that suffer gun violence in schools.

"God spoke to me to build a cross. I didn't know why," the unnamed man said. "We had a school shooting in Oxford, Michigan almost exactly three years ago at a high school. I took the cross to a vigil there and after that vigil I knew that the cross wasn't just for Michigan it was for everyone across the country. It's a message of healing and hope and love for one another."

This is true. 

I personally believe that the attempt to normalize killing by abortion has desensitized many kids of this generation to the realities of death and killing.

I also believe the euthanasia movement ---"death with dignity" has devalued the sanctity of life, causing people, especially kids, to lose respect for life itself. Thus, the moral restraint to taking a life, their own included, has been removed. The conscience has been seared. The restraint has been removed.

But the general secularization of the culture is, in my opinion, the most deadly of all.   

John Adams, a Founding Father of our country and our second president, explained that our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is inadequate for any other.

We cannot separate the biblical "faith of our fathers" from current culture. To the degree that we do so under the guise of "pluralism," it will be to that degree that we will continue to see these tragedies in our culture.

To the same degree we turn back to our founding principles and biblical beliefs, we will see healing and life spring forth in our nation.

We are moving in that direction.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.