Like many of you, I find myself intermittently pondering and questioning the latest shooting tragedy.
I do believe that guns are tools and that the underlying disease of this situation lies with an unwell human using this tool for a horrifying and unfathomable end.
I also believe that fixing and shifting the complex and multi-faceted systemic, structural, and cultural dysfunction that creates and contributes to unwell humans takes time, care, and lots of shifts. Shifts in our society's view of what is sustainable for an individual's mental health, physical health, and how we support and care for those that are disenfranchised.
This process will take time. What if in the meantime we simply decided to put consistent and effective barriers and balances around specific tools? Not all the tools, simply some of the ones that seem to be most misused and abused. Not in some states so those who are desperate and not in their right mind can simply travel over a state line, but can we agree as a country that some tools are simply not needed for everyday use?
Maybe we can call these regulations training wheels, life jackets, baby-proofing the country, seat belts, helmets, anything you'd like but please, let's agree that we can make adjustments and protect our most precious, WHILE we continue to fix/unravel/heal the source of this problem.