It was snowing today.  This is not an unexpected event in Minnesota on a February day.  However, the swirling snow got me thinking not about driving or shoveling but that each of those snowflakes could represent the thoughts and feelings that are swirling around our country today in the wake of another mass shooting; the attack on high school students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on Valentine's Day, Seventeen lives were lost and many others were injured.

Firearms deaths in America seem as plentiful as snowflakes in February and are becoming as ephemeral and unremarkable.  The politicians offer "thoughts and prayers", social media lights up with posts and sad emojis and then the next outrageous tweet comes along, the next appalling insult to democracy, the latest stalemate in Congress or even the newest Kardashian baby and the shootings fade from our consciousness...when exactly did the Las Vegas shootings take place?  And wasn't there just a school shooting in Kentucky, or was it Tennessee or maybe Oregon?
The students from Parkland are trying to keep this latest disaster present in our minds and they seem to have some success as more and more people are feeling that this madness has to stop---IT. HAS.TO.STOP.   My thoughts have been working and working on problem-solving.  I would like to be part of the solution, but that would mean that I'd be able to engage in constructive dialogue and I've already blown my cover.  I mentioned "outrageous" tweets so now you know:  I'm a liberal and therefore I am certain to want to take away all the guns, shorten the Bill of Rights and disparage the president. Disparage the president, perhaps, but the rest of my thoughts are more nuanced than that and I'm convinced that if we could get into a genuine dialogue in this country, we could find some common sense solutions that could go a long way.

Full disclosure: I do not have any love for guns.  When I was 24 years old, I buried my father, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot.  He was just short of his 76th birthday, despondent and depressed.  My mother came home from an overnight visit  to find him; imagine that experience, if you will.  I thought I was strong and resilient and able to move on with my life, but the guilt, the sadness and the loss would find their way back into my soul in inexplicable ways that took me years to decipher and only partially overcome.

Despite this, there is my husband's shotgun for bird hunting in the basement and some boxes of ammunition that I can calmly ignore when it is time to change out the window screens or find a bucket of paint.  Hysteria is not my go-to response to guns.

I have strong opinions on guns and gun culture and I meet with equally strong resistance right in my own home.  My husband's good friend and hunting companion was director of quality control for an ammunition company and represented them at congressional hearings.  Rod has heard his arguments and respects them.  He knows more about the firearms industry than I do and I have to acknowledge that.

I don't spend the occasional fall weekends when Rod and his friends are hunting all in a panic because I know they are all skilled and cautious in the field.  Killing as sport has zero appeal for me, but I recognize that hunters through license fees and through membership in organizations such as Pheasants Forever contribute to conservation efforts. Well-managed hunting seasons help maintain wildlife populations. Ownership of guns for legal and regulated hunting should not be prohibited for qualified individuals, even though the process for purchasing shotguns and rifles along with all other firearms should be more rigorous.

When Rod purchased his new shotgun here in Minnesota a few years ago, the process was
easy, because a speedy background check was performed through NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System).  Minnesota's gun laws do prohibit certain classes of individuals from buying guns.  You'd think that every state would use this system, but at their website, it is noted that the system is used by 30 states...not 50, but 30.
The president has spoken the words, "improve background checks" and I wanted to know more what the current status of background checks are so I consulted the Giffords Law Center .  More thoughts tomorrow, including the rest of the opposition at home.  (Hint: Rescue, Percy and Boston are remaining neutral)