Doing What is Easy

Trenton Responds to Newtown by Pushing Eighteen Gun Control Bills, Zero Mental Health Reform Bills

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

I said it days after the Newtown, Connecticut shooting, Save Jerseyans, and my opinion hasn’t changed: Let’s try to have a constructive, substantive, balanced debate… just don’t expect it.

That’s because we’re in the realm of politics, and of those detestable creatures known as “politicians” who can always be counted upon to do what is easy (for their political advancement) before taking a crack at any “hard” issues.

Case in point: despite the fact that New Jersey already has some of the nation’s toughest gun laws on the books, Trenton politicians introduced no less than 18 gun control bills last week. Among them is A-3676, a bill which would mandate in-home psychological inspections as a prerequisite to gun ownership. How this measure helps stop the next Newtown (where the guns were stolen) is beyond me.

Zero pieces of legislation were introduced to address the mental health crisis at its roots or, more specifically, the generational upswing in behavior issues in our schools…

Ask any rank-and-file teacher: the current state of the law does not protect the innocent child; it protects the rights of the offender. The common thread between these mass shootings is a lack of surprise; the community always tags the shooter as a potential problem long before the human time bomb goes off. Isn’t anyone in Trenton curious to learn what that’s the case?

Our early warning system is flawed, folks. If a child is classified due to an emotional issue and acts out negatively on several occasions, a group of professionals meet to assess the situation. If they deem that his or her actions are a “manifestation” of the classification, the child is held to a different level of expectation. They are rarely given consequences of any merit, and definitely none that require they be permanently removed from school without months, sometimes years, of anti-social behavior.

How is this process helpful in maintaining the atmosphere of safety in our schools? Once again, the rights of the one have supplanted the rights of many. Constantly making excuses for anti-social behavior has put us all at the mercy of these lunatics.

When will the rights of society and the safety of innocent Americans take precedence over the rights of one disturbed, crazy, and yes, evil, person? Our schools cannot stave off the wave of violence in the current state society finds itself in because society has allowed evil into what was once the domain of trust. Schools were a place to be safe; kids trusted that the worst thing that could happen during their day would be a poor grade, an argument with a friend, or a lost homework assignment. Those days are gone forever, because we have all let the kids down.

But instead of tackling these hard questions, Trenton legislators and their counterparts in Washington elect to infringe the rights of sane, law-abiding gun owners. It’s easier.

So for those of you wishing/hoping/praying for a more constructive discussion… keep waiting. The Left will continue its kneejerk assault on gun rights, forcing the Right to consume valuable time defending core liberties when, instead, our legislators should be coming together to enact sweeping mental health reforms both inside and outside of the classroom. THIS is why people really hate politics even if they can’t always articulate why…

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