The tragedy of Newtown Connecticut was apparent with almost every American. It could have been any school, anyone's child, grand child or family member. The victims were the most precious and innocent among us. The random act of violence against elementary school children and their teachers was unimaginable and stunned a nation. The questions were almost immediate; what could have been done to prevent this tragedy? Why drove Adam Lanza to harm little children? Did the school have a safety plan? Were the guns legal?

Our nation expressed it's grief with an outpouring of support for the families of those killed. Memorials were up all over the country with the number 26 representing the victims of this speakable act. With grief there was guilt. Why do these mass shootings keep happening? Surely there was something that was missed. It was reported that Andrew Lanza mother was in the process of filing legal paperwork to have him involuntary committed to a psychiatric hospital before the shooting and this may have caused him to go over the edge. There are still many questions that need to be answered in the ongoing criminal investigation.

The issue of gun violence is certainly a part of this tragedy, however there is a difference between those who are lawful gun owners and those who use guns illegally. The right of Americans to own firearms is without question a right enshrined in the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment states; "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed". Even so, the courts have held that reasonable restrictions are permissible such as banning felons from owning guns, those with mental illness, banning automatic weapons and certain types of ammunition. Gun owners and their supporters have strongly supported these restrictions and have always supported strict enforcement of the nation's gun laws. Yet those with an agenda moved quickly to go solely after guns and law abiding citizens.  

 Immediately after the shooting, New York Congressman Jerrold Naddler called on the President to "exploit" the tragedy to push for more gun control. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California) introduced legislation in the US senate to ban hundreds of semi-automatic weapons which would also include handguns, shotguns, for the first time require registration for all non banned firearms including rifles and has admitted that she would like to have an outright ban on all firearms. President Obama's Education secretary Arne Duncan recently said, "we have common values that go far beyond the constitutional right to bear arms". Governor Cuomo has actually called for the outright confiscation of semi-automatic rifles from law abiding citizens. The Journal News, a local newspaper in the Hudson Valley obtained and published the name and address of pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties equating law abiding citizens with criminals similar to publishing the names of sex offenders.

The term "assault weapon" is often confused with fully automatic weapons which have the ability to fire hundreds of rounds in a few seconds. Automatic weapons which are used by the military have been illegal since 1932. A semi-automatic weapon is any weapon that fires one round at a time with each pull of the trigger. The so called federal "assault weapon" of 1994 banned the sale, manufacture and importation of certain defined rifles which were "banned" based on their appearance such as a flash suppressor or a pistol grip. Of those rifles including ammunition clips which were in circulation prior to the ban, they were grandfathered in and could be legally owned. The result of the ban was to drive up prices for "pre ban" rifles and ammunition clips. An actual ban would have required the confiscation of tens of millions of legally owned rifles, would have cost tens of billions of dollars to reimburse the owners and the reality that the ban would be violative of the constitution based on the restrictions and the breadth of the weapons banned.       

The National Rifle Association responded to the tragedy by outlining three proposals. The first would require improvements to the national data base which tracks people with mental illness which is accessed for gun purchases, armed Police or security officers in every  school and strict enforcement of those who commit gun related crimes. Several local officials labeled the plan to station armed Police officers in schools as "ludicrous" yet several large school systems across the United States such as New York City and Los Angeles already use armed Police officers. The problem with the latter is the cost. The remaining proposals make sense but a more comprehensive approach is required. 

It's important to acknowledge that the state of Connecticut has one of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. The state has an "assault weapon" ban, a waiting period to purchase any firearm, requires a permit to purchase and possess a hand gun, a ban on firearms on school property and other limitations. Even so, this did nothing to prevent the tragedy. New York which also has restrictive gun laws, makes the possession of a handgun without a permit a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison. The law has resulted in the arrest of numerous legal hand gun owners from out of state who make the mistake of crossing the New York state line. But New York city streets remain a killing field for children who are regularly cut down by those criminals who wage gun battles on city streets. Where is the outrage from Governor Cuomo?   

Instead of targeting those who engage in this type of wonton criminality, Governor Cuomo has decided to play fast and loose with the politics of the moment by going after those who follow the law. He has proposed to ban and confiscate certain rifles that are currently legal; those which are not deemed "assault weapons" under New York's own "assault weapon" ban. How can a rational state Governor call for the actual confiscation of rifles which are already legal under state and federal law? He wants New York to become the first state to require permits for all firearms including rifles and shotguns. Currently rifles and shotguns require no permit but require that all purchasers undergo the federal instant check. As to large capacity ammunition clips, New York limits their capacity to ten rounds but the Governor wants to reduce the capacity to seven. How does his plan protect New York residents?

The Governor who claims to have a shotgun and a supporter of "gun rights" has questioned why a hunter would need to have a semi-automatic rifle for hunting? Its quite simple, not everyone is a hunter. The right to own a gun in broad. There are three reasons people purchase firearms; self defense, target shooting and hunting. If a women wants to defend herself, she may carry a 38 caliber snub nose handgun. A hunter may use a 30-06 caliber rifle or other assorted rifles. Target shooters use a variety of guns and rifles. The 2nd amendment does not limit the use of firearms as long as the use is legal. One of the most important reasons for owning a gun is for self protection. How then is this a balanced approach protecting gun rights with protecting children? 

Any approach must be comprehensive and must include a change to our culture of violence such as movies and video games. Over the last forty years, Hollywood has made violence the norm. Television shows beam into the homes of our children which promote gun violence and gore. Video game makers have created a product that is so vivid and gory, the average child has become desensitized to violent images. Its the reality of garbage in, garbage out. Four out of ten children are born out of wedlock without the stabilizing factor of a father. The explosion of personal devices has reduced the level of human interaction and has isolated people as they rely on electronic communication. The internet has become the substitute for socialization. The substitution of innate objects and social media with traditional socialization has altered how people perceive information creating a deficit that is not healthy.

Even though our society has been more quick to "identify" mental illness, there is a debate over our approach. Those with severe mental illness and a history of violence have been discharged into our communities instead of being institutionalized. How many times have these individuals gone on to commit murder after giving warning signs? New York had two recent incidents of mentally deranged individuals who pushed subway passengers to their death in front of oncoming trains. Why were they out of the street? Instead, the mental health complex has focused on adding new definitions of mental illness to expand their pool of prospective clients instead of focusing on those with the most critical illnesses which impair day to day functioning and those behaviors which put the innocent at risk. Our approach to treatment has to change as well as our priorities and how we use our scarce resources. 

New York and the federal government should review all of the current gun laws on the books. An analysis should be conducted as to what laws are enforced and the outcomes of those prosecutions. A state task force should be created to investigate and prosecute gun crimes involving the trafficking of illegal firearms, offenses that involve gun battles in residential neighborhoods, gun crimes related to narcotics and the use of a firearm against a law enforcement officer. In order to gauge the effectiveness of this program, statistics should be maintained and released to the public showing the number of crimes prosecuted, the number of convictions and the correlating number of gun crimes reported.

The Governor's single approach to go after the second amendment is ideologically based and without regard for the protections afforded a free people. All Americans and New Yorkers are saddened and outraged at the carnage in Newtown. It's important that we address the problem of gun violence in a balanced manner. It's not a strictly a gun problem, it's a problem of our current culture and those who seek to ignore it.