After 20 children and six adults died in Newtown, Connecticut, we all are standing in shock and wondering what we, as a society, are going to do to stop these insane attacks on innocent people.

There is a lot of talk about gun laws, and on that subject there are a 1,000 ways to look at it. The Constitutional argument is really not a valid one unless those folks want to talk about everyone having muskets and they are going to join an official militia.

Frankly, I have two guns. I have a .22 caliber rifle and a 9 mm pistol. I have had the .22 caliber since I was a kid. It does not bother me to tell law enforcement I have the guns and register them. The 9 mm is registered. I bought the pistol when a local nut case told me he could blowup the newspaper just like the terrorist did in Oklahoma. I have never shot that pistol in the 15 years I have owned it.

I have never figured out why the NRA does not propose its own plan to stop or curtail killing with guns. Doing that now will be none too soon. If nothing else, they could encourage the strict enforcement of the laws currently on the books. An idiot speaking for NRA went on television last Monday and said we should give all the teachers guns. Right, now teachers have to be Rambo too?That should draw an interesting crowd of educators.

Better background checks before a dealer or individual can sell certain types of guns and the equipment to go with those guns would be a start. Gun shows need tighter controls. People are going out in the parking lot and selling weapons not permitted to be sold inside the shows.

Yes, one can kill with any type gun but the last three mass shootings were committed with an AR 15 assault rifle as part of the arsenal. Gosh, do think there might be a problem here?

Another issue no one wants to talk about is the nation's failure to deal with the mentally ill. ACLU lawyers, and other groups, want to talk about the rights of the mentally ill but they never seem to get around to talking about my right to be protected from the mentally ill who are considered dangerous. I agree this is one area in which lines could be crossed from which people could never recover. Something has to be done. The fellow who shot and killed 16 people in a Colorado theater had given multiple people indications that he was off the chart in relation to his mental health. Nothing was reported in a way that would have taken him off the street.

Why did the people working with him not say anything? Could it be because they could eventually be the victim? Could they be in danger of a lawsuit, loss of job, and professional reputation, and thus, have too much at stake to take that chance?

There are at least three problems here. Are we, as a nation, going to allow our representatives to do nothing because they do not want to face powerful lobbyist? We, the people, need to be the most powerful lobby they face. Demand courage and a job well done from those elected to represent us.

They applied for the job, now they need to do it.