Guns, Mental Illness and Newtown

Great article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323723104578185271857424036.html?fb_action_ids=10152328787670694&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210152328787670694%22%3A187981214676257}&action_type_map={%2210152328787670694%22%3A%22og.recommends%22}&action_ref_map=[]

Public sentiment being what it is right now, legislative action against the right to keep and bear arms cannot be avoided. Personally, I am willing to give up some of my rights if it does help reduce violence.

However, most gun laws over the years hardly had an appreciable effect on crime. Many of those restrictions only serve to hinder the law-abiding. Some are downright laughable, such as banning guns with barrel shrouds that protect the operator from being burned.

Maybe it's too much to hope for. In a time like this, gun nuts and gun grabbers should work together to find the best solution to this social problem, even if we tend to approach it from different sides. Don't let politicians pick on some low-hanging fruits, tell us they have done something, so please vote for them next time. Expect concrete results. Fix the problem for real.

Tragedy at Connecticut

As a father of school-age children, I am shocked by the tragedy that happened yesterday. My heart goes out to the victims' families. Just the thought that such atrocity can happen already upsets me enough. I cannot begin to imagine the pain that they must feel right now.

After a tragedy like this, we all feel the urge to do something. However, we must pause and be sure that we are doing the r

ight thing. Banning guns is the easy way out, particularly for those in power, to appear that we are doing something, but is it the right thing to do? Constitutionality aside, won't we simply drive guns underground and create a lucrative black market like liquor in the past, and drugs in the present? Won't we end up denying three billion Americans the proper tools to defend ourselves, and a fighting chance for stopping crimes big and small in the future? Shouldn't we be looking at the core issue instead, as in why has the modern American society produced such sick individuals from time to time?

Honestly, I don't know the answer to these questions. If you think you do, good for you. I do want to challenge you to ponder over whether your solution will help fix the problem, just as I re-examine my belief in the fundamental right to keep and bear arms whenever they are misused.