The proliferation of guns is not responsible for the killings at Sandy Hook. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that extensive ownership of firearms among law-abiding citizens inhibits violent crime. I submit that most crimes thwarted with a gun go unreported. We seldom hear about rapes and murders prevented by the mere presence of a weapon. Furthermore, Sandy Hook Elementary was a gun-free zone. Only four states have stricter gun laws than Connecticut. Nonetheless, a demented killer was able to commit mass murder.

More gun laws would simply constitute a “paper tiger.” Such legislation might give people the “warm fuzzies,” but it accomplishes nothing. The solution demands more of us than simply passing laws. The only people who obey gun laws are responsible, law-abiding citizens, but they are not the ones committing murder.

America has a definite problem, but the problem is not guns. Specifically, we have a sin problem. Our nation is fast forgetting who God is, yet we wonder why atrocities recur with increasing frequency in our society. Contrary to progressive thinking, human nature remains consistent. Little has changed since the prophet Jeremiah authored the following words about humanity: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, ESV) We need a third great awakening in our country, and we need parents who will teach their children the difference between right and wrong in absolute terms.

Many of our politicians will exploit this awful tragedy, using it as a pretext for cracking down on patriotic gun owners. When our founders crafted the second amendment, they understood that firearms in the hands of patriotic Americans were the most effective bulwark against in oppressive, tyrannical government. Contrary to the propaganda of the mainstream media, the second amendment was never about “duck hunting.”

Greg Eby

Elkhart