What happened in Newton several days ago was a horrible and sickening tragedy. I pray for the families and their community.

Given the recent mass shootings, one would get the impression that our nation has been experiencing a sharp rise in gun violence, or violence in general. Fortunately, that’s not true—violent crime has steadily decreased over the last 30 or so years—but it hasn’t stopped the increase in stricter rules, more pat-downs, and uneasy minds. And it hasn’t prevented the national media and some lawmakers from exuberantly passing around accusations and solutions. They are very happy to claim the sky is falling and that they have the answer. We should resist such a reaction.

I strongly encourage you to read Robert Tracinski’s excellent piece on this subject, warning Americans to act responsibly in the face of such tragedy, instead of making it worse. You can read it here.