The Sentinel: Guest Commentary |Mass shootings, this has to be stopped

Guest Commentary |
Mass shootings, this has to be stopped

No family or child should ever have to worry that going to school might end in their last day of life.

by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator

Satan will do anything.

He knows no boundaries. He will do anything to kill or wound you or the most innocent, vulnerable people.

Little children sat in their school mass last week in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The students were at Annunciation Catholic Church which is also home to an elementary school. A shooter fired through stained glass windows into the church where students were attending mass, killing two and injuring 17 other people. They were in a place of reverence and worship. Yet, while they were inside a sanctuary of worship, in the middle of mass, an evil person invaded their sacred space and did the devil’s work of killing and wounding. What should have been moments of devotion turned into death and despair.

Glenn Mollette

I will not mention the shooter’s name because doing so only fulfills his/her goal to die with some kind of sick, horrific fame.

Let us please continue to pray for the hurting families in Minnesota who will never escape the pain of losing their little children who were simply in school and in a time of Christian worship.

No family or child should ever have to worry that going to school might end in their last day of life. Nor should anyone have to worry that going to church might be the most dangerous place they could ever be. Yet, we know that school and church shootings have become a sick routine of American life.

This has to be stopped. Please media people, please stop listing the names of those who commits such hellish acts.

Please, all school officials and church leaders, please know this only has to happen once to your local school or church. Once it does, you and your community will never get over it. Please utilize every means of security. Take nothing for granted. Prevention is the key. Uniformed security is vital. Terrorist shooters are cowards. They prey on the unprotected and the unsuspecting. They prey on little children, an unarmed class of kids or a church filled with unarmed people. They do not want to deal with uniformed, armed guards. They look for the most vulnerable.

We also must have stricter gun control

While many of us believe in prayer, it’s time to do more. Faith without works is dead. Social Media giants like Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok, must start notifying police when posts are made that come across as being threatening to society. People with such problems need to be placed in mental hospitals for treatment and observation. While we cherish free speech, we are past the day of tolerating speech that is filled with threats. Over a year ago someone said “President Trump should be placed in the bull’s eye”. That was soon followed up by someone almost successfully taking his life.

Parents must be in control of their houses. Know where every gun is and be sure they are locked up in safe places. Even if you have adult children living in your home you must be the ruler of the house. If they are living with you then you rule. Be a strict supervisor of all weapons.

We also must have stricter gun control such as mental health evaluations for all gun purchasers under 25 and longer waiting periods for buying semi-automatic weapons. Home visits should be made 30 days after the purchase of a semi-automatic weapon. This home visit would be to personally counsel the owner of the weapon about the safety and care of the weapon and also to do a mental health assessment. This all sounds invasive but we can’t keep saying just pray. It’s time to do something.

About the author ~

Glen Mollett is the author of 13 books including Uncommom Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states.

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