Everyone has a responsibility to do what they can to end these monthly massacres of children in school, mall shoppers, churchgoers, movie watchers. Only a comprehensive solution will do.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

There was something about this latest, most dreadful American massacre that penetrated my defenses, and that of many other Americans. Perhaps it was the fact that these were two roomfuls of 6-year-olds, together with their almost equally defenseless teachers. I simply could not shake the mental images. They invaded my dreams, interrupted my sleep. And they demand action rather than more fruitless handwringing or complacent silence.

I have become convinced that we need to treat this steady downpour of gun massacres as a form of domestic terrorism that must be deterred, prevented and punished through every possible effort of government, civil society, families and individuals. Everyone has a responsibility to do what they can to end these monthly massacres of children in school, mall shoppers, churchgoers, movie watchers.

Only a comprehensive solution will do. Every aspect of this problem needs to be considered with the best and most creative thinking available. As one list of possible steps, and as an invitation to others, I propose the following action-steps that are indeed possible for us if we but have the national will. I proposed these earlier today on my Twitter feed. Join the conversation there or here:

1) Gun massacres by alienated, sick or angry American young men represent a mental health problem of the first order. We need improved mental health services and universal, affordable access to such services for all who need them.

2) These terror attacks are exploiting soft, unprotected targets such as schools, malls and theaters. At last we need to recognize the need, as they say in security circles, to "harden" these targets so that killers have more difficulty penetrating them and perpetrating mass murder if they do get inside them. We need a "best practices" summit for how to harden these soft targets and provide fewer victims to those who seek to do mayhem there. A place to begin is with the level of security now attempted at our airports.

3) Gun owners should be encouraged or mandated to lock up their guns when not in use and to triple-check the security of their gun storage sites, including within their own homes.

4) It is past time to renew a ban on assault weapons.

5) It is past time to ban high capacity magazines or clips that contain 30 rounds or more.

6) All gun purchasers from any gun seller must pass criminal and mental health background checks, without exception.

7) Gun sellers should be challenged to take greater moral responsibility to refuse gun sales to suspicious persons

8) We need to attend to our loners; all of us, but especially parents, clergy, teachers, etc., need to be in meaningful caring touch especially with our high risk young adults.

9) Federal law should limit gun purchases to one per month.

10) Gun sale statistics and buyers' names should be transmitted to state or federal law enforcement officials to monitor suspicious patterns pointing to possible lethal danger of domestic terrorist acts.

11) The gaming and film industries must be challenged to stop producing and selling so many products that train young men in the art of paramilitary mass killing; parents and teenagers need to take responsibility to block or refuse to use such products.

12) And a new one, specifically as a Christian speaking to other religious folks: I urge the religious to stop retreating to religious slogans like "let's just pray" or "we need God" or "no law can change the human heart" as a substitute for human action to save human lives.

Psalm 115:16 reads: "The heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to human beings." This is a way of saying that we, all of us, are responsible for what happens here. Yes we need to pray. Yes we need God. And while it may be true that no law can change the human heart, laws can save human lives. Let's get on with it, immediately.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot