My take on mass shootings – the bigger problem

Here’s my take on mass shooting issues. I invite you to convince me I am wrong.

I have been a gun owner for 75 years, shot at in combat, a concealed carry permit holder for more than 30 years, recipient of death threats while conducting investigations and the up close and personal victim of an attempted car-jacking in which my handgun caused the perpetrator to turn and run. I’ve conducted lots of background checks, and I have been the subject of very thorough government background checks that took months to complete.

I am convinced that demands to “do something” about mass shooters offer no real, workable solutions and that only “feel good” rules are on the table while voluminous research data show that enacting more gun laws will be meaningless.

Red flag laws are all about politicians looking for reasons to remove firearms from a person, and many proposals violate constitutional guarantees. San Diego County has some red flag laws that may or may not be working. You might want to check them out.

Can an “expanded background check” help identify potential shooters without violating constitutional rights? Probably not. Actually, the current background check is pretty comprehensive, but it is not a predictor of violent behavior. The real question is how much intrusion will you allow into your personal life?

There is a wide variety of behavior today that is deemed socially acceptable, including disrespect of our laws and law enforcement. So how can we expect individuals who have problems to put a limit on their activities or cause civic leaders to take charge and mitigate violence such as antifa?

Cops have to be allowed to do their jobs without political forces turning them in wusses.

Mass shooters are evil, have severe mental issues or are so intellectually impaired they just don’t understand the value of life. Maybe it is all three. And stricter gun control measures of any kind, including expanded background checks, will have no effect on future mass shooters.

Finally, here is what I believe to be the root cause of mass shootings. Negative societal behavior. Cultural shifts since the 1960s specifically include failure to have cohesive family units, strong parenting has disappeared, illicit drug use has skyrocketed and the dark side of the internet continues to enslave younger generations.

In a liberal world, these are problems which are hard to correct.

But don’t yell at me. I am fairly reasonable. If you disagree, offer up some better solutions.

Ken Munson