by Cameron Hill ’15

It is with a heavy heart that I put finger to keyboard this evening. I am painfully sure that anyone who may read my humble words is as aware as I of the events that recently took place in Newton, Connecticut. Like many, I have reflected much upon the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in over the last few days, and now seek to share the opinions I’ve developed in its wake.

Since the fall of 2011 I have commented briefly upon several catastrophes that have, at some point gripped the collective consciousness of our country and the world, from the Costa Concordia disaster to the shooting in Tucson, Arizona. In both of these events, too many people lost their lives. Neither incident, however, impacted me so deeply as did the terror inflicted upon the students of Sandy Hook Elementary.

I was disconnected from a cruise ship sinking off the coast of Italy. I couldn’t relate; I have neither been on a cruise nor traveled to Italy. Perhaps I was just a bit too young, only thirteen at the time, to recognize the significance of the Tucson shootings. When I learned of what had taken place in Newtown, however, I realized that Newtown could have been any town in this country. Sandy Hook could have been any school. The children killed could have been any children.

I am so grateful that it was not my town, not my school, not my neighbors, but nonetheless I feel an overwhelming sense of anger than an such atrocity could take place in an American elementary school. I went to a public elementary school in New Hampshire that was very similar to Sandy Hook. It was a good school – families moved to the area so their children could attend it. I had wonderful teachers who cared about their students. Never once did I feel like I was in danger there. This sense of security has been harshly ripped away from the children who attend Sandy Hook.

It is unthinkable that a twenty year old, unstable person had any access to the semi-automatic rifle and other weapons that allowed him to shoot his way into a school and murder twenty innocent children and six adults. I have no desire to infringe upon the Second Amendment Rights of any person. I support a person’s right to bear arms if they choose, but with this tragedy in mind, civilians should not have access to assault rifles, for the safety of themselves and their children.

I firmly believe that the right to guns intended for hunting, target shooting, self-protection and the protection of others, and collection – there is no other legal use for a firearm of which I am aware – does not need to include semi-automatic weapons. I consider it, therefore, neither necessary nor proper that weapons such as the Bushmaster rifle used to slaughter twenty-six on December 14 should continue to be in circulation throughout the United States. Without his semi-automatic weapon, the Sandy Hook shooter simply could not have committed the heinous crime he did.

I believe stricter gun control is necessary within this nation. In favor of this argument is a report from The Atlantic showing data that the states with at least one gun law have fewer gun-related deaths.  I believe that anyone wishing to purchase any firearm anywhere in the nation must submit to a background check. As it is, anyone can purchase a gun at a gun-show or through a private dealer without being checked as long as the seller is unaware of any reason the buyer would not be allowed to legally own a firearm. Examples of disqualifying characteristics include conviction of a felony, known substance abuse, and dishonorable discharge from the military among many others.

I do not believe that any person who has exhibited seriously violent or unstable tendencies should be allowed to have access to guns in any way – even if this excludes others living in the same household from purchasing a weapon or keeping it in their home. In the case of the Sandy Hook shooter, the weapons he used were registered legally in his mother’s name.

Our country is unique with respect to guns. More people own guns in this nation than in any other at all according to a CNN report. There are 88-89 guns owned per 100 people in the country. According to The Washington Post, the United States has roughly 20 times the number of homicides per capita using guns compared to countries such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Norway, Poland, Australia, and Israel. This is a horrifying statistic. We, as a nation, must change our attitude toward guns.

Before rejecting the above proposals as a liberal need to disregard Second Amendment rights, I urge you to consider the lives lost on the sunny morning of Friday, December 14, 2012, at a school in a small town in Connecticut. Remember the twenty beautiful little six and seven year olds whose names have become so familiar: Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, Ana Marquez-Greene, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt.

Remember the six adults who and died protecting those children: Rachel D’Avino, Dawn Hochsprung, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach, and Victoria Soto. Their bravery in the face of such terror was a light through the darkness.

Remember the victims of other mass shootings such as those at Columbine High School (1999), Virginia Tech (2007), and a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado (2012).

I, thankfully, knew no one who was killed in these events, but I do feel that their deaths must never be forgotten. Our country’s policy on guns must change. Hopefully, then, the Sandy Hook massacre will be the last of its kind.

I wish to extend to the families and friends of the Sandy Hook victims, survivors of the shooting, first responders, and residents of Newton my most heartfelt condolences for the unutterable loss you suffered. No mere words of mine can alleviate nor adequately express any of the pain you feel. I can only say that my heart is broken, too.