After another mass shooting, some suggestions.

Another school shooting. Ten dead in Texas to pile on the corpses of other mass shooting victims this calendar year. America again faces the anguish of senseless death, the loss of life too young, the calls for legislative action that never comes.

The Santa Fe high school shooting last Friday differed from most school shootings in the choice of weapons used. This time, the assailant, another angry misfit, did not choose a military combat weapon like an AR-15 of an AK-47. This time, the killer used a shotgun and a .38 caliber revolver — weapons that are common in U.S. households for hunting and personal protection.

Friday's murders emphasize that special weaponry is not required to produce horrific killing. A shotgun is a superior weapon in close quarters. A police chief once advised me that the best home protection firearm available was a shotgun, which does not require good aim to be effective and can take out multiple threats with one blast.

Although I can see no reason why civilians should have military combat rifles, it is obvious that the choice of weapons is not at the heart of America's problem with mass shootings. Here are some things that need to change if America is ever to get hold of its mass murder problem:

• Change the violence culture. Motion pictures and video games glorify violence and killing. Unstable, immature young men transfer the killing culture of video games to real life, apparently unaware that killing people is different from killing pixels on a video screen. Ratings of age-appropriateness on these video games are ineffective. The entire plot based on violence and murder must be eliminated. Even if these plots do not result in mass murder, they have to affect users' perception of the world and of people. The plots of popular movies have morphed into violence by "super heroes," suggesting that a "super hero" is needed to right wrongs or save the world. Practical solutions, empathy, compassion, peaceful mediation are not addressed. Some will cry that government cannot infringe on "freedom of expression," but courts have found that "shouting 'FIRE' in a crowded theater" is not protected by free speech. Recipes for mass violence and murder should not be protected free expression.

• Improve mental health outreach and monitoring. Today's teenagers are more troubled, more angry, more delusional than previous generations. The teen years have always been difficult, but today's teen years are more likely to be angry and violent. Teens can be taught to control their anger and their impulses.

• Examine family life of troubled teens. The absence of a father in the home is an indicator of likely problems. Divorce, death and other life events can also throw emotions off balance. Providing counselors and parental figures for these teens would be a worthwhile investment for society.

• Halt the sale of combat weapons to civilians. This should include the combat rifles, bulletproof vests, more deadly ammunition (such as hollow point bullets) and "bump stocks" or other devices to increase rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons. The Second Amendment (which, like all freedoms, is not absolute) would continue to protect ownership of firearms that are needed for hunting, home protection and target shooting.

• Examine the impact of the loss of religious education and faith-based humility. Disrespect for teachers, peers, elders and others has made younger generations more frightening and less teachable than their forebears. Instead of a culture of "what's in it for me?" or "I want mine," consider the impact of reciting the words, "You are dust and to dust you shall return" or "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Governments cannot favor one religion over another or work to convert school children, but the world's great religions agree on certain principles, such as humility, love, compassion and charity. A decade ago, schools were teaching "self-esteem," so they should be able to teach humility and compassion without establishing a particular religion.

America's gun violence problem involves more than guns; it involves people, young and old, who see mass killings as a solution to their troubles and a chance at celebrity. NY Times columnist David Brooks recommended that all news media refrain from running the names or pictures of mass killers, thereby denying them the celebrity so many of them sought. Let's try a multi-faceted approach that addresses not just schools and not just guns but the entire culture of violence and emotionally troubled young men.

 

Another mass killing

Another day, another mass killing. Yesterday's senseless rampage in San Bernadino, California, elicited cries of "not again," and "what, another one?"

These shocking events have become commonplace. Some news outlets are reporting that this year's tally of mass murders has topped one per day. Some of these events are deliberate, terrorist attacks carried out by fanatics following some wild political or religious ideology. Others seem to have no rational explanation.

America may be the land of free, but it is also the land of the frightened. These killings are not limited to "bad neighborhoods" or big cities. They come to small towns, rural areas and "safe" places. No one is safe.

The National Rifle Association insists upon an absolutist interpretation of the Second Amendment (the "right to bear arms"), which has led to peaceful gunmen terrifying bystanders by carrying assault rifles and other firearms openly into stores, theaters and other gathering places. The NRA also insists that the "right to bear arms" cannot be limited to only the sane, mentally healthy, rational and non-violent citizens. NRA wants no background checks, no waiting periods, no limits on magazine or clip capacity, and no restrictions of any kind on firearms.

A timid Congress and a complacent judiciary has made the NRA's interpretations the law of the land, so now we count the bodies after each mass killing and resign ourselves to the gasp that nothing can be done.