More gun laws not the answer

Taking up a gun to resolve issues is a mindset we, as a society, must change. Remember, when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Every school shooter has their own way of justifying their actions, whether is was because they were bullied, abused, or in some other way disparaged.

We need to change the culture in our society that makes it somehow acceptable to take the most extreme response. I am opposed to rescinding or changing the Second Amendment.

Students hold their hands in the air as they are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus. Prosecutors announced they will seek the death penalty in the case. Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP

Read today's letters

• Push back against Central Maine Power
• Governor’s pay not what it seems
• Fortman has the right skills to grow Maine’s economy

Better screening of a student’s mental status and better lines of communication, both at home and in the schools, is paramount.

A lot can be said about good parenting, better mental health screening in our schools, better conflict resolution in schools and homes, and teaching students how to reasonably address their grievances without feeling the need to commit mass murder. Teachers should be acknowledged for their overall expertise in facilitating students to be good citizens in both, their schools and their communities.

The gun is just a means to an end. not the actual device that caused the problem. Some folks are capable of doing just as much harm with a hammer.

Teaching the signs and signals that a student is being bullied, abused, and/or that they are manifesting an incipient mental illness that may contribute to acting out or potentially deadly behaviors is a primary job of parents and teacher alike.

You can’t legislate good behavior. Laws only work for the law-abiding. There will always be folks who will feel that the only resolution to their personal quandary is to take up arms and eliminate those who they perceive have persecuted them in some offensive fashion. You can’t fix some broken toys.

Charles Ferguson

Windsor

Related Stories