I’ll tell you why I’m disappointed in the NRA

On Dec. 16 President Barack Obama spoke at a prayer vigil for the grieving families of Newtown, Conn., the latest victims in what has become an epidemic across this nation. Mass shootings are becoming more frequent in our movie theaters, malls and schools — just to name a few.

“We can’t tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end,” President Obama said during his speech to those reeling from shock of the loss of 26 innocents. Twenty of those killed were 5- and 6-year-old children.

He was right on the money. Regardless of political beliefs, we can not let another shocking mass murder like that of Newtown, Conn., to ever happen again. These are our children we are talking about. We should do all that we can to protect them.

The President, shortly there after, set up a commission to be headed by Vice President Joe Biden and invited everyone from educators, gun owners, gun control advocates and mental heath specialists to take part. Strangely the National Rifle Association was silent.

When it did comment a week later, it was not what I expected. Wayne LaPierre Vice President of the NRA called for armed guards at every school in the nation.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said before walking off the stage.

Well, that floored me. It stunned many and angered a few more from all sides of this complex set of issues. I was left with a feeling of disappointment. Here was the perfect opportunity for the leadership of NRA to pledge to contribute to finding answers to this problem plaguing the country. And they blew it with rhetoric and lets face it, a defiantly bad attitude.

Do not get me wrong, I fully support Americans’ rights to keep and bear arms. Provided one is legally able to obtain a weapon under state and federal law.

But as weapons owners, we do have a responsibility to ensure they are properly cared for, secured from theft and kept far away from children. And, we have a responsibility to educate family members on the proper and safe use of such weapons.

But enough is enough. We must find ways to prevent yet another Sandy Hook school shooting or another shooting in a movie theater. Another shooting in one of our nation’s shopping malls.

The President was right to invite everybody and all their ideas to the table. The NRA, from the looks of things, has refused. That is where I am most disappointed.

We must find ways to prevent criminals from getting guns. Stiffen the laws and penalties for those criminals who are caught possessing them, selling them or trying to obtain them. We most definitely must keep them out of the reach of the mentally ill or insane. Almost all of the recent shooters fall under this category. And there seems to be a direct connection with some of the drugs used to treat their mental illnesses and their hideous crimes.

You see it is not the weapon that kills. It is the person holding it. No matter what kind of weapon it is from a rock to an AR-15 rifle. That person must be prevented from getting his or her hands on one. I am referring to the aforementioned people who are criminal, or mentally ill. But these are only a few of the issues that are part of the complexities of gun violence that plague us all.

Every time this issue comes up there is a call to ban certain types of weapons. There is a massive run at gun shops for those very same weapons. And every time the gun stores rake in millions of dollars in weapons sales.

I’m not to certain a ban on the types of weapons used in these heinous crimes is needed. But that and other hard questions must be discussed in the open like adults. All of them.

Some changes in law I support. Like closing the many loopholes that allow those — with no reason to possess any weapons — from getting their hands on them. Or ensure that a national data base is made to give all sellers — from a gun shop to gun shows — quick, easy access to those listings of names in a criminal background check thus preventing the criminal or convicted felon from buying one. I know that criminals will and do find ways to get around the rules. But lets make it very hard for them to do so.

I am not too thrilled with the idea of a national database of legal weapons owners. That seems to me like an invasion of privacy and a security risk to those like myself who own them. I have been hearing some stuff on that line as of late.

Armed guards or arming teachers in schools? This was NRA’s idea. Many schools do have armed security already. With mixed results. A few are talking about arming teachers. I am not fond of the idea.

The NRA needs to sit down with the others on the commission and put their ideas on the table. Not walk away. Doing nothing is not a solution. We have tried before and look where it has gotten us.

The solution — or solutions — needed to combat these horrid crimes may take years to find, and it will require the efforts of everyone to accomplish. The NRA made a big mistake by walking away.

This is far more than a touchstone for liberal vs. conservative politics. It is about trying to protect our children, our families and all Americans from this national tragedy. We all must try to have open minds. We must listen to each other.

Some of the ideas out there may become reality. It could mean a ban on certain types of weapons is part of the solution to reducing such violence. I am not speaking heresy, as some will accuse me of.

I support a commonsense solution that keeps our Second Amendment rights intact, but which protects the lives of innocent children and everyone else, too. That is where the priority should lie. Protecting their lives from harm. I hope that it is truly possible. I hope that it can become a reality.

Maybe we can, maybe we won’t. But we must try. It will not be easy. There will be triumphs and setbacks. There will be heated debates. And hopefully, compromise. Yet it must be done. It may involve that the very fabric of our society needs to change. The violence that fills it must go. It is not impossible.

The souls of 20 children slaughtered — and many more from all the other past murders in senseless rage — are looking down on us from on high. We owe to their memory to try and to keep trying until something positive is done. We must not let them down.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.