San Bernardino Joins The List

“What is this world coming to?” That question, which does not have an answer, was likely asked time and time again yesterday as news broke of the latest mass shooting which would leave 14 dead and 17 injured in San Bernardino, California.

31 people who woke up on a sunny Wednesday morning likely thinking about their work day, children and maybe going to the mall to do some holiday shopping. The shooting suspects, a young married couple with a 6-month old child were later killed during a shootout with police and as of this morning there is no known motive and terrorism has not been ruled out.

San Bernardino, Colorado Springs, Roseburg (Oregon), Chattanooga (Tennessee), Charleston (South Carolina). Five mass shootings this year alone in the United States that that have claimed 40 lives while injuring another 38. Scenes like we saw yesterday in California are becoming far too familiar and Americans seem to be more concerned about their general safety than at any point in the post-9/11 world we live in.

I was listening to one of our other radio stations yesterday who took up the issue of whether people were going to stay away from traditional holiday visits to places like New York City because of their fears. This was before the San Bernardino shootings and many of the callers said they had or were seeking alternatives to their usual trips to places like Rockefeller Center. They just didn’t feel safe.

It’s a sad commentary about the world we live in but one we need to accept because that feeling of safety is going away and not just because of terrorists from third-world nations. It’s one thing to witness what took place in Paris but what might be a greater concern for most of us is watching and hearing about shootings on our own soil. What occurred in California yesterday could just as easily been right here in New Jersey as in most cases we’re talking about delusional individuals who just went off the deep edge.

Of course once again the issue of gun control will take center stage and it should. Regardless of how you feel about the second amendment it’s hard to fathom why anyone would take exception to laws that just might make it a bit tougher for someone with bad intent to purchase a weapon.

Tell the families of the 14 who died yesterday that the right to bear arms is more important than the right to live.