by Bonnie Garrett

I don’t know about anyone else, but I was rather annoyed that the NRA appeared to be paralyzed after the recent massacre in Newtown.  If they’ve since found their voice, it hasn’t been loud enough for me to hear it, much less average Americans.

Just why would they decide to shut down and take cover?  It certainly appears to me that they wouldn’t have had to if they had a solid message that was worth communicating regardless of what’s happening in society.

I imagine that’s got to be how many non-NRA members see it as well.

I may get hate mail for saying this, but guns are not the answer.

They are half of the answer.   As in:  Guns in the hands of good people do good; so what we need is more good people.

I doubt that many would argue that this society’s apparent downhill spiral seems to coincide with the deterioration of the family: broken homes, fatherless children and the like.

I have no statistics in my pocket, but I’d about bet they are out there confirming that the vast majority of nut-jobs killing our children, firemen, etc, are from abused backgrounds and broken homes.  Strong families make a stronger society.

Clearly, little ol’ GSL can’t fix all of society’s ills, but why on earth can’t we put out a more complete message and actively promote the existence of more good guys?  There have got to be local organizations whose sole purpose is family-focused; it could be as simple as partnering with them and promoting them. Loudly.

There’s a lot of average Americans who think civil rights activists like us are just a bunch of single-issue people / voters.

Yes, we love our guns and the freedom they guarantee and represent – to say nothing of the innocent lives they protect – but we also seek a better community for ourselves, our families and our friends and neighbors.   We don’t want to manipulate people to scare them into surrendering their civil rights.  We want folks to understand the truth so they will be better and smarter fellow citizens.

And yes, supporting and promoting basic American principles and old-fashioned ideals like the ones our nation was founded upon will certainly be appealing to the vast majority of Americans who are not yet gun owners.

Perhaps I’m just more sentimental because I’m growing a little person inside me.  Either way, I think GSL can expand its message without losing the point.

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This is a prime example of what Bonnie is writing about as part of the problem in America:

Fathers disappear from households across America

Big increase in single mothers

(Washington Times) – Nicole Hawkins‘ three daughters have matching glittery boots, but none has the same father. Each has uniquely colored ties in her hair, but none has a dad present in her life.

As another single mother on Sumner Road decked her row-house stoop with Christmas lights and a plastic Santa, Ms. Hawkins recalled that her middle child’s father has never spent a holiday or birthday with her. In her neighborhood in Southeast Washington, 1 in 10 children live with both parents, and 84 percent live with only their mother.

…The predilection among men to walk away from their babies is concentrated in the inner cities. In Baltimore, 38 percent of families have two parents, and in St. Louis the portion is 40 percent.

[Editor:  And guess where the crime rates are also significantly higher!]