I have no answers, just strong opinions

At what point will the leaders of this country stop trying to control weapons and focus heavily on the PEOPLE who are violent and the mental illness from which they suffer? I read this recent article posted by a mother of a mentally ill child. It's heartbreaking to read what she deals with on a day-to-day basis.

When her son is on a violent tear, her only option to protect herself and her other children is to have her son arrested. He's 13. There are more mentally ill people in prisons than ever before. That's our country's solution. Put them in jail; don't attempt placing them in a hospital for the mentally ill. In fact, let's cut funding for such facilities and make them few and far between. Yeah, that will solve the problem.

I don't want to use this forum to argue about gun control. But, if you look at some of the most horrific crimes in recent history where children and adults were gunned down - Norway and Russia for example - these mass killings took place in countries with some of the most stringent gun control laws in the world. So, at what point is the focus placed on mental illness? Take away the weapons and these people will still find ways to harm others.

Before I jump off my soap box, I also have a message to share with the media on the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy:

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

I'm disgusted with how the tragedy in Sandy Hook played out in the news. It was pathetic from the very beginning and every journalist involved should feel a sense of shame. Why are you trying to interview a 9-year old just hours after this event? (And why are those parents allowing it??) Why are you giving a face and a name to the killer so he can accomplish his twisted goal of achieving posthumous fame?? Like every other mass shooting, we will always remember the names of the killers, rather than the names of the victims.

I did not intend to start off my day with this rant, so sorry for that. But, this story has consumed me, likely because my children are the ages of those killed and because I have great relationships with their educators. There's no wrapping my head around it. It's just sitting there, weighing heavily on my mind, as I'm sure it is on yours.