Hi Tricia, just want to say I listened to this show and you were, as usual, a great host and interviewer
There were a couple of inaccuracies though. The police found the brother Ryan Lanza at his home in Hoboken, NJ not in Newtown, CT. Ryan works at Ernst & Young in NYC and was working at time of shootings. Also, there has been no mention of the mother having abused Adam. In fact, she may have been trying to get him into a long-term residential treatment facility and that may be the trigger for Adam's explosion.
I personally don't think getting rid of all guns by private citizens is the answer to shooting rampages, although that may appear to anti-gun proponents to be an immediate, short-term solution.
I do believe, as you suggested on the show, that there has to be stricter screening to prevent gun-ownership by those who are mentally ill -- albeit it does have the unfortunate side effect of painting a broad stroke on all mentally ill as being violent, and from what I've read, the majority of mentally ill are not violent and would not do harm, at least not upon other people. (They may injure themselves, but the chance of their harming others is virtually nil).
Also, I think there has to be greater resources and treatment for the mentally ill. As is, there are too many barriers of access towards diagnosis and treatment. The stigma of being mentally ill prevents many to seek help. And insurance coverage is often limited, particularly for the underprivileged.
Moreover, I think it's the culture of violence, aggression and self-aggrandizement that is glamorized in the media, etc. that promotes violent rampages such as this. We need to teach the youth that being ordinary -- non-famous, a non-celebrity -- is more of a hero than those seeking negative, dramatic fame and attention. It is the ordinary commoner -- the compassionate, loving person who by his acts of kindness in everyday deeds -- who creates the climate of peaceful existence for everyone else. Without this so-called ordinary commoner, the world would have destroyed itself already. It is this ordinary commoner who is the true hero.
Anyway, thanks again for your informative shows!
