Mel’s Musings – Gun violence – is there really nothing we can do?

Columbine was the first mass school shooting. It took place on April 20, 1999. The shooters chose that day specifically because it was Hitler’s birthday. There had been school violence before this and the occasional, “I’ll get you…” gun attack aimed at a specific person, enemy or bully in a school, but Columbine was a different breed of cat altogether.

I was a State Senator then and folks had all kinds of suggestions to keep youngsters safe. Some Republicans in the Legislature wanted to post the Ten Commandments in schools. The rationale was if only those two boys who did the shooting at Columbine could have read “Thou shalt not kill” on the wall of their school then all would have been well. Eric Bogue, a lawyer and a conservative West River Republican, saw that bill as an unconstitutional establishment of religion and amended it to include any statement of philosophy or faith that professed nonviolence. His Republican colleagues then killed the bill because they were trying to double dip by capitalizing politically on the Columbine situation appearing to be “doing something” and that something was advancing Christianity in the public schools. I’ve always had tremendous admiration for people of principle, doubly so for people who follow their values even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient for them. Eric Bogue is a man of integrity.

People asked me what should be done. I answered there was a solution; have everyone attend class naked and anyone who walked funny had a concealed weapon. As you can imagine, that didn’t go over well.

I said that in part because it was true, a bit humorous and also because it was no more ridiculous than the “solutions” people in the community were suggesting. They included metal detectors at every door with armed security checking kids in and out all day, every day as well as taking all the doors off the lockers and having bathroom monitors standing at the restrooms to unlock them for one student at a time. Some suggested a strict dress code – no trench coats, sweatshirts or other clothing that could conceal a weapon. Others wanted all coats to be banned; kids would have to drive to school in the winter and leave their bulky coats in the car before entering MHS to prevent the introduction of a concealed weapon into the school. Further suggestions included no backpacks or at least clear backpacks, arming teachers, locking kids into school – no one in or out once the school day began and so forth and so on.

“Security” at the high school is a joke. Once school begins at Mitchell High School the front door remains unlocked all day long. The west door is also unlocked because of the campus concept – kids in and out to MCTEA as well as to DWU, MTC, out to and back from lunch, appointments etc. Having a resource officer from the Mitchell Police Department is a step forward but the Sentinel Program which allows South Dakota teachers to be armed is a recipe for potentially deadly misinterpretation of a situation, accidents and tragedy.

In 2012, firearm injuries killed 2,694 children in the United States. In 2020, the figure for that year was 4,368 kids which was an increase of 62%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reports that from 2012 to 2020 more than 25,000 children died because of guns; 64% due to assaults with firearms, 30% to suicide by gun and the rest due to negligence – poor storage, weapons not on safety, accidents etc. The National Rifle Association confirms that sales of the AR-15 and AK-47 have soared to 24.4 million with more than 4.5 million sold since Joe Biden became president.

Guns are getting more and more powerful too. Sig Sauer’s MCX-SPEAR can fire bullets through bullet-proof vests and has twice the force of an AR-15. It is the civilian equivalent of the military’s NGSW-R which is the next generation squad rifle specifically designed to tear through body armor. The Sig Sauer MCX-SPEAR also has a suppressor available for those who wish a stealthier attack.

California law now targets “ghost guns” which are weapons without serial numbers and come in pieces for home assembly and all without a background check. California allows citizens to sue gun manufacturers for $10,000 and citizens need not have been injured personally by a ghost gun or other weapons covered under the law in order to sue or collect. It is modeled on the Texas law allowing citizens to sue abortion clinics even if that citizen has never had or even contemplated an abortion.

Gun violence is 25 times higher in the United States than in other nations. In part that’s because of the Second Amendment, our hunting tradition and the United States’ history of gun culture that makes firearms ubiquitous in a way you don’t find in other nations on Earth. In addition, because of the Second Amendment, the kinds of laws and restrictions that are routine in other countries would be blatantly unconstitutional here. Gun violence is also higher because of loopholes and nonenforcement of our laws. Gun shows, by and large, have no background checks or other procedures that would prevent the nefarious from arming themselves. Red Flag laws, which allow law enforcement to deny permits to people that other citizens have flagged for erratic behavior or domestic violence, are often ignored by local law enforcement. For example, 37 Colorado Sheriffs have declared their counties to be “Second Amendment Sanctuaries” and those sheriffs are refusing to enforce Red Flag, no guns for those convicted of domestic violence and other gun control laws.

The latest shooting at the Covenant Presbyterian Christian School in Nashville is heartbreaking. The question is, “What to do about it?” The shooter had no previous criminal record that would have triggered a denial of the right to own a weapon. Seven firearms were legally purchased from five different gun stores and three were used in the attack. No one did anything wrong as far as paperwork, due diligence and background checks, hence the dilemma; how to prevent calamities like this from happening in the future while staying true to the Second Amendment and our fundamental constitutional rights?

Weapons used to be an almost daily part of life at Mitchell High School. During pheasant hunting season there were guns galore in the parking lot in racks in pickup trucks. Young men would go out road hunting in the afternoon on their open period hoping to bag that night’s dinner. Knives were everywhere. Carrying a pocketknife used to be as common as carrying keys and those who worked at Shopko and Kmart that were responsible for opening cartons and stocking shelves always had them. Then there were the demonstration speeches for required sophomore speech class. Occasionally a bow or a shotgun would be marched down the hallways of MHS by a student and when questioned he (it was always a he) said he was demonstrating how to string a bow or clean a shotgun etc. It was out of the ordinary but not unusual nor was it alarming – then.

There were two, near, incidents of gun violence during my time at Mitchell High School. One occasion was a noncustodial parent coming for his daughter. He was armed and he was determined that she was going leave with him come hell or high water. We were on lockdown and the Mitchell Police intercepted him before he got to MHS.

The other occasion was decades ago when a student’s girlfriend broke up with him. He took a pistol and began shooting. He was shooting his own automobile. The Mitchell Police were called but Lori Schmidt was dispatched to disarm him. She was seven months pregnant with one of her boys when she waddled out to confront and disarm the boy. He was hurting emotionally but never meant to hurt anybody physically, therefore the violence was only directed at his own personal property.

It is a truism than any day could be your last. However, that last day should never come for children from the barrel of a gun, especially not while they are attending school. “Thoughts and prayers” are all well and good, but they are not enough – not nearly enough.

Nieka Richard, a teacher who has left the profession for a variety of reasons, including school violence, has a suggestion. Her “solution” is for parents to take out high value (say $1 million) life insurance policies on their school age children and for teachers to do the same. That way, when there is a massacre at school as a result of a school shooting, insurance companies would be on the hook for huge payouts. Ms. Richard’s logic is, after a few giant payouts (think Sandy Hook Elementary where twenty kids and six staff members were murdered) the insurance companies would pressure Washington to deal with school violence. Her idea is the insurance companies, with their lobbying influence and political contribution dollars, would have the clout to effect the change needed – change that the deaths of scores of children and school staff sadly has not yet brought about.

But that’s other places, right? It’s not South Dakota, school shootings don’t happen here – do they? Remember Kevin Lein? He was a staff member at Dakota Wesleyan and a Mitchell School Board member before moving to Harrisburg and becoming the Principal of Harrisburg High School. He was shot in the arm when he and the Assistant Principal disarmed a young man bent on violence.

What on Earth are we going to do? Shrug our shoulders and accept that school shootings are the new “normal”? Hide behind the Second Amendment? Be satisfied with “thoughts and prayers”, how about when it’s your child? We’re the adults, don’t we owe it to our children to protect them, especially at school?