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The hole in your heart never goes away

Dan Reinhard

Minot

I am willing to join any sincere conversation. I imagined myself as a parent driving frantically to a school after an announced shooting, to take my child home to safety and not finding him there waiting for me when I arrived.

You see, I have lost a child and although it’s been 21 years, I still think about him often. The hole in your heart never goes away. How do we stop the senseless loss of innocent lives in the horrific shootings throughout our country?

I have heard it said that we have a serious culture problem in our country; it’s not guns, it’s violent video games, movies, music and TV. I’ve heard that it is caused by the breakup of the family unit, of not having a mother and father at home. I’ve heard that it is the lack of faith in God and practice of that faith. I believe that all of these sad reminders contribute in varying degrees to the state we find our country in.

I am not cherry picking by choosing four of the most horrendous murderous acts in recent history. They happened at: a school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, 27 dead; a church in Sutherland Texas, 26 dead; a hotel parking lot in Las Vegas, Nevada, 59 dead; and a school in Parkland, Florida, 17 dead. The numbers of injuries in those incidents are also staggering.

I strongly support the NRA and all hunting endeavors. In the bloody aftermath from the incidents above, there are a few observations that torment me the most; all four murderers chose helpless, defenseless victims and also used various models of an AR-15 rifle. Three of the killers had some form of documented mental health issues. As to how each them might have been affected by our violent cultural norms is anyone’s guess.

There are no simple solutions but my ideas are: install an electronic microchip in certain semiautomatic weapons that prevent them from firing in a school zone, provide armed teachers or guards in our schools with strict annual training and certification, and install secure entry and exits into all schools with security systems in place. Pray daily and fervently for help from our good Lord…

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