Idaho authorities say they're investigating where the girl got the gun; let me help you with that one
In the past decade, there has been a consistent trend in breaking down Idaho state gun laws.
A sixth-grade girl brought a gun to her Idaho middle school and started shooting. It sounds strangely familiar. If it is in America, people treat this kind of news like a hurricane: it is tragic news, part of life in the U.S., and we know similar new natural disasters will follow.
News agencies do what we expect them to do. On day one, they produce pictures of crying students and worried parents waiting outside the school. On day two, they have found the hero without whom it would have ended much worse, and a reporter shares the latest news from the hospital.
The officials also do what we expect them to do: they speak in sobering tones, describe what has happened, say how it could have been worse, and thank several people. Prayers are mentioned, and yes, thoughts too. A hurricane, an earthquake, or a mass shooting: they follow the same protocol.
But with a mass shooting, there is always this line: 'we are investigating how he/she got the gun.
Seriously?
They are investigating how the suspect got the gun? That question would be highly relevant in practically all of the 190 or so other countries in the world where gun laws make it almost impossible to own a gun.
Let me help the authorities of Idaho with this latest investigation.
Since last summer, a concealed weapons license is no longer required in Idaho for U.S. citizens (which is, I presume, 100% of the about 4000 people living in the town of Rigby). In the past decade, there has been a consistent trend in breaking down state gun laws. Age limits were lowered, the 'within city limits' restriction was abolished, and then the permitless carry was expanded to any weapon. Idaho is one of the nine permitless concealed carry states in the U.S.
Open carry is legal in Idaho. A concealed weapons license is not required for open carry, nor for long guns (covered or not).
A firearm is also allowed to be transported in a vehicle, as long as it is in plain view. And if it is unloaded, it doesn't have to be in plain sight.
Seven years ago, Idaho made it unlawful to use any state assets to enforce federal gun laws. Think about that one for a moment. The national gun restrictions are already the least effective globally (with the possible exception of Yemen). Still, Idaho declares that the state doesn't allow any state's assets to enforce these.
Suppose the town of Rigby will soon look around in the world for some guidance on how to avoid mass shootings. The other 190 countries might inspire them to regulate the ownership, possession, use, transportation, or carrying of firearms. The state of Idaho prepared for that risk and has state preemption of firearms laws in place. The state constitution states that
"No law shall impose licensure, registration or special taxation on the ownership or possession of firearms or ammunition. Nor shall any law permit the confiscation of firearms, except those actually used in the commission of a felony."
Back to Rigby: the authorities are investigating how the girl got the gun. I imagine the policemen in Rigby sitting in a meeting right now. "How is it possible that she got a gun? How on earth could she have found a weapon in Idaho after our state has done everything possible to abolish any reasonable restriction on gun control?"
How much longer will this question be asked in the United States?
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Notes:
My thanks to the photographers, follow them on social media or photo sites.
Bullets: Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
Gun: Photo by Maurício Mascaro from Pexels
Gun at UN for SALW campaign in NYC: Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
It seems the second amendment of the Constitution which states a well regulated militia should have access to guns is changed in the minds of legislators and gun owners to mean guns should be available to all. Unfortunately this means that unregulated guns are becoming increasingly prevalent. Thoughts and prayers won’t solve the mass shootings. Strict gun laws are needed in every state and the Wild West mentality needs to be suppressed. I doubt that this nation will ever see limited gun ownership but changes can be made to limit the tragedies of mass shootings. It is the public to press legislators to make those changes or vote in those who will.
I understand the perspective. If you think of America not in terms of “a set of decisions” but rather, “a set of emotions” I think you will see that the maelstrom of what we call America (and I write from within it) is more comprehensible. And the media reports on only a small, small segment of that emotional range. Emotion translates to decision, translates to physical experience... and we have it all here. Sway it in the direction you want to go. Vote, express, write... while understanding the emotional root at the heart of it all.