Why?

The peace of our Friday was shattered early this morning as news reports out of Connecticut indicated another school shooting had taken place. As the details streamed out, it became clear this was one of the worst, if not the worst, tragedy in U.S. history.

It appears 27 people are dead, approximately 18 of them children between the ages of 5 and 10. Much of this is early speculation and will likely change throughout the coming days and weeks. But the final figure isn't what's important here.

When I saw the news, it was hard not to think of April of my senior year of high school, as reports poured in during a spring afternoon that there had been a school shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. My English teacher, Mrs. Kay, was a native of Colorado who had taught at Columbine. I remember the fear and sadness she had as she tried to get information on what happened.

I remember how shocked I was then, watching the news about the shooting, and wondering at how something like that could happen.

In the 13 years since that happened, similar incidents have become all too common. Just this year there has been a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, at a mall in Oregon, and at an elementary school in Connecticut. All of them are tragic and senseless, and it's hard to escape the feeling they could be prevented.

A couple weeks ago an NFL player, Jovan Belcher, killed his girlfriend and himself. In the aftermath, there was a great deal of discussion about the proliferation of guns in this country. One player responded that guns don't kill people, but rather people kill other people. That's true, but it's an over simplification of the issue.

It's telling to me that in this morning's paper there is a headline about the Colorado legislature considering gun control laws when the new session begins in January. It's also been striking to be experiencing this news while living in Colorado, a place where people are all too easily able to recall feelings when these tragedies have occurred in this state.

People are responsible for their own actions, but the proliferation of fire arms in this country make it a lot easier for these kinds of things to happen. I remember reading one individual arguing — in regard to the gun debate following the Belcher incident — that even absent a gun people can find ways to commit murder. While that's true, it's hard to imagine someone having been able to use a knife to kill 27 people at an elementary school in the fashion it happened today.

One of the most fascinating documentaries I have seen is "Bowling for Columbine." Some choose to focus on the politics of its creator, but I choose to focus on what it says about our country. In the years since its release, our tolerance of despicable acts of violence has seemingly only grown when considering our "entertainment."

I understand the Second Amendment, and I understand some of the reasons that its fiercest supporters cling to it. But I seriously doubt those that crafted the Second Amendment would be pleased to see how it is used to justify the proliferation of fire arms on a day like today.

Something needs to change. As President Obama said, "We have seen too many of these tragedies." We can't move forward tomorrow like it's all business as usual.