In life, Let it Be is often best, but not for gun safety
Watching the Beatles documentary "Get Back" on the Disney+ channel made me think about the meaning of one of the songs. The documentary walks us through the making of the album, "Let It Be."
We all have our own interpretations of Beatles' lyrics. I'd like to think the meaning of the phrase "let It be" is to let go, to not get upset over trivial matters. The older I get, the more I find myself using the concept of Let It Be in my life. Someone flips me off? Let It Be. Slow customer service? Let It Be. Knees creaking, hair thinning? Let It Be.
But the subject that I cannot let it be is gun safety. Why is Michigan one of 20 states that does not require parents to practice gun safety at home by locking up their guns from minor children?
Our state needs a law that requires gun owners to keep their weapons locked up or face criminal charges if a child takes a firearm and uses it in the commission of a crime. Thirty states have these laws, which are known as child access prevention laws. The prosecutor in the Oxford case did file charges against the parents of the shooter saying, “While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there were other individuals who contributed to the events.”
In 105 cases of school shootings since Columbine, the weapon’s source has been publicly identified. In 80% of the shootings, children took the guns from their own homes. In only four cases did adults face punishment for not having locked them up.
Fortunately, Michigan state Sen. Rosemary Bayer, who introduced a safe storage bill last spring, said she will again resume pushing for its passage in January when the Legislature reconvenes. Bayer said the Legislature might be more open to this safe storage bill after the student deaths and community trauma that has followed the Oxford shooting. “This common sense law may have prevented this shooting. We have met resistance on gun measures in the past, but we must take action this time. It’s time we come together and implement real solutions.”
Despicably, groups lobby against laws proposed to prevent a child’s access to guns, arguing that these restrictions make guns useless. Many gun retailers sell pistol safes that can be accessed in seconds by gun owners who need to quickly reach their gun in an emergency.
Safe storage laws do not restrict the number of guns a person may own. The bill in Michigan would focus on ways to keep children safe, not impede a citizen’s right to bear arms.
I challenge our legislators to back this bill when it is pushed by Sen. Bayer this January. I am tired of reading stories about children killing children because their parents didn’t lock up their guns. I’m talking about a 6-year-old killing a sibling or friend because a gun was left lying around.
As a former teacher at Monroe High, I remember what is was like to practice lockdowns after Columbine happened. Students took these drills very seriously knowing what could happen. Sadly, these drills continue for all school children today. Our community does not want a repeat of what happened in Oxford in Monroe.
With safe storage laws and parental indictment for giving access to guns to minors as a deterrent, maybe we can avoid a horrific event like Oxford or Parkland or Columbine or Sandy Hook. These are just a few of the names that come to mind. Sadly, there are so many more.
Let us remind ourselves that 20 6- and 7-year-olds from Sandy Hook Elementary would be in high school today rather than lying in graves if guns had been locked up at the perpetrator’s house. After police searched his house, it was determined it was a virtual arsenal of guns.
I know that all gun violence in schools cannot be prevented from this one law, but as citizens can we live with ourselves knowing that it might have saved lives and trauma? I don’t know about you but I will not Let It Be.
Mary Strevel is a former teacher and is a member of Stronger Together Huddle, a group engaged in supporting and promoting the common good of all. She can be reached at mdstrevel@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Mary Strevel: In life, Let it Be is often best, but not for gun safety
