Preventing Violence

A man in Dexter, ME killed his wife and kids and then himself on Monday. Absolutely tragic. In the news coverage about it, they mentioned that the wife had taken out a restraining order against him. He also was out on bail because he had been charged with threatening his wife and children. One of the investigators commented that they were trying to figure out how he ended up at his wife’s house with a shotgun since the conditions of his bail prohibited him from being there and possessing a fire arm.

I’m sorry, what? Do they actually think that a piece of paper will prevent someone from doing something? Just because those were the conditions of the bail does not mean he couldn’t get in a vehicle and drive to his wife’s house. And it also doesn’t mean he couldn’t obtain a gun somewhere. After all, they don’t do background checks when you buy a gun at a gun show.

This attitude is the same as saying, when someone is caught driving without a driver’s license or with a suspended license, that they can’t figure out why the person was driving. A piece of paper or lack of a piece of paper does not take away a person’s ability to drive. That is why I ended up taking my dad’s car keys away from him. THAT prevented him from driving.

There has to be something more done to prevent domestic violence rather than a piece of paper. The only thing the piece of paper does is get the person in trouble if they are caught. It does nothing to prevent people from committing violence. After all, if someone is violent enough that the person who was married to them, committed to them, and living with them, actually is so scared that they acquire a restraining order, that violent person will not be intimidated by a piece of paper but will find a way to harm their former loved one.

What I also found interesting about this whole event was the father’s reaction. The father of the man who killed his family. He blamed the district attorney for not doing more. In other words, it is the law authority’s fault that his son was so angry and violent that he murdered his family. That pretty much says it all. This is the man who raised the person who committed this violence. He admits he wasn’t the most perfect father but this mass killing was not his son’s fault and he, himself, was not culpable in any way. It is the people in authority who are to blame.

That is just sad and pathetic. I’m not saying that the father was entirely to blame for his son’s behavior. But he was the one who raised him, influenced him and taught him right from wrong. Or, in this case, failed to teach him right from wrong. I think he needs to be man, apologize for his part in all of this and then quietly go away to mourn the loss of his children and grandchildren.

It seems like we really need to do more to protect people. This is the 21^st century. Yet we are still doing the same things as we have for so long even though we know they won’t work. The death penalty does not prevent murders, suspending driver’s licenses will not stop someone from driving, and protection orders do not protect people from violence. I think it is time we figure out some other way of preventing crime and protecting people. We are supposed to be an advanced society. Maybe it is time we act like it.