So, yes, Ma’am and Sir….

I didn’t post much about the Valentine’s Day Florida school shooting, as I was pretty numb about it.

I wasn’t even going to post about this most recent school shooting in Texas, but I saw a post on Facebook, and I was compelled to post this.

My friend stated:

”ok, so here are the fact as we know them so far.
1) he was bullied
2) he posted about it
3) people knew about him
4) he didn’t use an AR-15 or even a semi automatic
5) no bump stocks
6) he used a shotgun and a revolver
7) he stole the guns
8) he made bombs
now, I say to the ignorant f***ing liberals which of your laws would have stopped him?
1) 18 to buy a gun….NOPE
2) “assault rifle” ban……NOPE
3) “bump stock ban”…..NOPE
4) semi automatic ban…..NOPE
5) banning bombs maybe?…..NOPE
NOPE not a thing you suggest (or anything that is law already) stopped him
now….how about help for mentally unstable people….yes!
because its a mental illness issue NOT a gun issue.
Rant concluded…for now.”

Most of you know that I ride the middle line; I’m too conservative to be a liberal, but I am also too liberal to be a conservative.

But let’s be real here for a minute. My conservative friend is right. Can we agree on that much?

That boy showed no red flags, and he stole guns that had been legally purchased. Had I been his dad? I would have kept my firearms in a safe, but that is just me. I’ve had little ones and now have grand-little ones. I’ve had firearms safely locked away from little (and not so little) fingers.

I’m not throwing shade at the shooter’s parents at all, because, again, this kid displayed no red flags.

I don’t  think this is so much a gun issue, but, as my friend indicated, a MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE.

We don’t  know much about his family, or at least I don’t.

Were they middle class? If so, then mental health care is pricey, even WITH insurance.

Was his family lower class, struggling to provide heath care for their family? Mental health care for low-income families will break the bank.

I have a family member who spent some time on the Behavioral Health Unit at my facility last year who was on Medicaid. The bills are probably going to break this person’s bank, which could, in all reality, spool this person off, again.

Honestly? We need to pay attention to our young people, talk to them, and against the government’s advice, discipline them as we see fit, assuming “we” are not child beaters. (This will put me on another topic, so we will save that for another time.)

Your thoughts?

Until next time…