The tragedy in Aurora
Yesterday, as most of us slept, some folks took in the midnight showing of the new Batman movie. One half hour into the movie, a young man, James Holmes, 24, took the lives of 12 innocent people and changed the lives of many, many more. This was a planned attack, there is no denying that fact and it was carried out in a calculated and swift manner. This individual has a screw loose and yet, looking at the commentaries on the various stories, some people want to blame everyone and everything but the man responsible for this reprehensible, horrific and senseless act.
Among the dead that have been confirmed and the families notified are a Sailor who was 27, a young man who was celebrating his birthday and the next day would have celebrated his first wedding anniversary; a young sports reporter who had narrowly escaped another shooting in Toronto only to be gunned down in Aurora. A young man who threw himself in front of his girlfriend and her brother to shield then from the gunfire was killed and the youngest of the victims, a 6 year old little girl who had just started swimming lessons and who's mother is still in critical condition, unaware that her baby girl is already gone.
I cannot fathom the grief that the families and friends of these victims are feeling right now. It is hard enough to face a death in the family, but to face the death of your children and then to have them go in such a violent manner is in my opinion beyond devastating. A parent should never have to bury their children and children should never have to face such violence.
It has been voiced by more than one commentator to these stories that this is the result of not having gun control. This is such a hot button issue, but, as I always do, I will go there. Let's get this straight, people. The gun did not do the shooting. The gun did not plan this attack in advance. The gun did not purchase itself or the ammunition that it took to do such awful damage. The gun did not order the body armor or the other items needed to booby trap an apartment....a deranged young man did; a young man who up until this point had not set off any alarms regarding deviate behavior. Mr. Holmes was a brilliant student who was pre-med and on his way to a PHD, quiet but not out there. It is unclear, if not unknown whether or not he spent enormous amounts of time playing video games...the speculation is that he did, but it is only that at this point, speculation. He grew up with a normal childhood in an upper middle class neighborhood with two parents. There were no obvious indicators that he was on the precipice of violence. Would gun control have changed this catastrophe? No, he would have been able to obtain the equipment through the internet or the black market. Let's face it folks, if you take the weapons from the general public, the people who are determined to cause harm will find a way to get what they need, illegally. Criminals will always have access in some way to weapons and the general public will have no way to protect home and self.
Now the question that no doubt has popped up in your mind. Do I have guns in my home? No, but not because I don't believe in gun ownership, I do. I do, however, have a child who is very adept at getting to something that peaks her curiosity regardless of the amount of security involved. Besides, as much as she threatened our Australian Shepherd when he was alive, I was afraid that I would come home to a dead dog someday. I do have a rather heavy lead pipe and a number of Louisville Sluggers in select places and come December I will have the furry alarm system that is found in many homes, a dog, but no guns, for her safety.There was one time in my life that I had access to many firearms in my home and I know how to use them, effectively and dangerously. I am a good shot and I have the medals to prove it. I do not have guns because I am responsible that way.
Bottom line, folks, is regardless of how this happened there are people who went to a movie to enjoy themselves not knowing that this would be the last time that they would do anything else in their lives. There is a young man who forever changed his own life, whatever is left of it, by committing this horrendous crime. There is a little girl who will never grow up, have slumber parties, experience her first crush, her first kiss, her first prom, her first love. She will never dance again, never swim again. She will never see the wonder of a lady bug, or look at the brilliance of the stars in the nighttime sky. She will never fall in love, marry or have children because James Holmes chose to take her life and the lives of 11 others. He chose this act, no one chose it for him, no one forced him, he chose it, his decision, no one else's.
Now, I have a request for all of those who are inclined to do so, pray. Pray hard. Pray for the victims; pray for the families who have lost loved ones; for the families who are facing uncertain futures because their loved ones are in critical condition. Pray for those who had escaped injury because the trauma has got to be incredible and post traumatic stress disorder is now a very real possibility in their future. Finally, pray for James Holmes. You read that right, pray for the gunman. Whatever is left of his life is likely to be a mish-mash of emotions, perhaps without remorse, but possibly with some sort of guilt. He will forever have to live with his actions and in the opinion of many, many people that will never be enough and perhaps that is true. They will want his life in exchange for their loved ones and there is nothing wrong with that, an eye for an eye is required here, no doubt. He still should be prayed for, how, I don't know, but he needs to be prayed for. Heaven help me, I don't know how, I just know that he needs to be included in our prayers somehow.
Among the dead that have been confirmed and the families notified are a Sailor who was 27, a young man who was celebrating his birthday and the next day would have celebrated his first wedding anniversary; a young sports reporter who had narrowly escaped another shooting in Toronto only to be gunned down in Aurora. A young man who threw himself in front of his girlfriend and her brother to shield then from the gunfire was killed and the youngest of the victims, a 6 year old little girl who had just started swimming lessons and who's mother is still in critical condition, unaware that her baby girl is already gone.
I cannot fathom the grief that the families and friends of these victims are feeling right now. It is hard enough to face a death in the family, but to face the death of your children and then to have them go in such a violent manner is in my opinion beyond devastating. A parent should never have to bury their children and children should never have to face such violence.
It has been voiced by more than one commentator to these stories that this is the result of not having gun control. This is such a hot button issue, but, as I always do, I will go there. Let's get this straight, people. The gun did not do the shooting. The gun did not plan this attack in advance. The gun did not purchase itself or the ammunition that it took to do such awful damage. The gun did not order the body armor or the other items needed to booby trap an apartment....a deranged young man did; a young man who up until this point had not set off any alarms regarding deviate behavior. Mr. Holmes was a brilliant student who was pre-med and on his way to a PHD, quiet but not out there. It is unclear, if not unknown whether or not he spent enormous amounts of time playing video games...the speculation is that he did, but it is only that at this point, speculation. He grew up with a normal childhood in an upper middle class neighborhood with two parents. There were no obvious indicators that he was on the precipice of violence. Would gun control have changed this catastrophe? No, he would have been able to obtain the equipment through the internet or the black market. Let's face it folks, if you take the weapons from the general public, the people who are determined to cause harm will find a way to get what they need, illegally. Criminals will always have access in some way to weapons and the general public will have no way to protect home and self.
Now the question that no doubt has popped up in your mind. Do I have guns in my home? No, but not because I don't believe in gun ownership, I do. I do, however, have a child who is very adept at getting to something that peaks her curiosity regardless of the amount of security involved. Besides, as much as she threatened our Australian Shepherd when he was alive, I was afraid that I would come home to a dead dog someday. I do have a rather heavy lead pipe and a number of Louisville Sluggers in select places and come December I will have the furry alarm system that is found in many homes, a dog, but no guns, for her safety.There was one time in my life that I had access to many firearms in my home and I know how to use them, effectively and dangerously. I am a good shot and I have the medals to prove it. I do not have guns because I am responsible that way.
Bottom line, folks, is regardless of how this happened there are people who went to a movie to enjoy themselves not knowing that this would be the last time that they would do anything else in their lives. There is a young man who forever changed his own life, whatever is left of it, by committing this horrendous crime. There is a little girl who will never grow up, have slumber parties, experience her first crush, her first kiss, her first prom, her first love. She will never dance again, never swim again. She will never see the wonder of a lady bug, or look at the brilliance of the stars in the nighttime sky. She will never fall in love, marry or have children because James Holmes chose to take her life and the lives of 11 others. He chose this act, no one chose it for him, no one forced him, he chose it, his decision, no one else's.
Now, I have a request for all of those who are inclined to do so, pray. Pray hard. Pray for the victims; pray for the families who have lost loved ones; for the families who are facing uncertain futures because their loved ones are in critical condition. Pray for those who had escaped injury because the trauma has got to be incredible and post traumatic stress disorder is now a very real possibility in their future. Finally, pray for James Holmes. You read that right, pray for the gunman. Whatever is left of his life is likely to be a mish-mash of emotions, perhaps without remorse, but possibly with some sort of guilt. He will forever have to live with his actions and in the opinion of many, many people that will never be enough and perhaps that is true. They will want his life in exchange for their loved ones and there is nothing wrong with that, an eye for an eye is required here, no doubt. He still should be prayed for, how, I don't know, but he needs to be prayed for. Heaven help me, I don't know how, I just know that he needs to be included in our prayers somehow.
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