The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 people dead, including 20 children, has renewed the gun-control debate that separates this nation from every other civilized country on the planet. On Tuesday, former UConn coach and Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun was at St. Monica's Episcopal Church in Hartford distributing holiday meals when he was asked his thought on the recent events in Newtown.
"I don’t think there’s any politics about gun control," he said via the New Haven Register's David Borges. In my opinion, nobody should have an automatic weapon unless they’re … protecting the country. The idea that children would be faced with that, or teachers that were trying to help them … there are other things in my lifetime that I can explain – a distraught kid, a fired employee. But this is so nonsensical. …
"Having six grandchildren … there’s no way I can get around this," he continued. "The most difficult thing is, people say, ‘Let’s give money.’ I don’t think money is the issue at this time. I think giving hope, caring. This is well-said by the President: Let’s make sure they understand they aren’t alone in this. This is a Newtown issue, a Connecticut issue, an American issue, a worldwide issue …"
Calhoun brings up a point that every gun-control advocate supports: “I just don’t know why. If you’re going to kill a deer, I don’t think it’s very sportsmanlike to get 100 rounds off in 10 seconds."
The coach continued: "I went to Israel on nine occasions and have seen young people carrying guns around who are military people," he said. "Yet if you’re found with any type of weapons in a city like Tel Aviv, you’re put in jail – no if’s, and’s, but’s or maybe’s. We’re not asking to take away people’s rights. The right to bear arms was put in there for tyranny, the fact that the government could come back and abuse us ... As a former American history teacher, I can tell you it wasn’t put in for us to shoot each other."
