From the Desk of Sheriff Chris Clinton 

Towns County, Georgia

As I reflect on the horrible tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that destroyed lives and brought such sorrow and grief to so many families, there are no words that can properly convey how I feel for those hurt by this despicable act of evil. I’m sure there will be some who will be offended by my thoughts and that is their right. I can only hope they will understand that this is an issue that is very near to my heart as Sheriff of Towns County. I have often stated that school shootings are the most horrible of crimes and the nightmare of Sheriffs everywhere.

I find it extremely unfortunate that in the aftermath of such horrible tragedies, there are those who inevitably attempt to make a political profit by jumping on the Second Amendment issue. Over the years, it seems that there are many who almost want this issue to remain because they make political hay from it. So often it seems that the same people who blame law enforcement for shootings, whether justified or not, want to blame the firearm for the shootings carried out by mass murderers.

Too many news reports want to talk about the personal issues the shooter may have been experiencing, as though it matters at this point. The time to have helped the individual would’ve been before he shot up a school. Then, some of these same reporters blame the NRA and anyone else who believes in the Second Amendment as their best defense against such acts, which does nothing at all to address the problem. The problem is a condition of the human heart that allows an individual to perpetrate such unspeakable horrors. While it may well be unfortunate that the shooter went down a dark path, it happened. It is too late to help this sick individual. Actions have consequences and the actions taken by this individual are so evil that they demand justice. Justice is for the victims, those who lost their lives, those who lost loved ones, the community, the whole nation; we have all been harmed. It no longer matters what led up to the shooter doing this. It has been done and it demands justice.

What we can do is look for real solutions to trying to prevent these horrific acts from occurring. These acts of violence have always plagued the human race, which is why the Office of Sheriff is the oldest elected office in the history of the world. There are those who, when given the opportunity, will harm the innocent. The question becomes how do we stop them or at least do all that we can to do prevent them from carrying out these horrific evils.

Eliminating guns is an impractical and flawed argument. Guns aren’t the only weapons of choice by this type of criminal. In the Township of Bath Michigan, on May 18, 1927, 38 elementary school children and 6 adults were murdered, while 58 others were injured by a mad man, who had formerly served as the school board treasurer. Andrew Kehoe did not use a gun. The much talked about AR-15 had not even been invented yet. Kehoe used homemade bombs to carry out this horrible crime. On June 11, 1964 in Cologne, West Germany, a deranged criminal used a homemade flame thrower and lance to murder eight students, two teachers, and injure twenty-two others.

While many would ask to ban guns, I ask can we ban evil. We have laws against murder, but it still happens daily. Not all murders involve a firearm. Some crimes are prevented by firearms. Firearms are inanimate objects with no will of their own. They can be used by humans for perpetrating evil, but they may also be used by humans to defend against evil. Jeff Cooper in “The Art of the Rifle” made the following observation, “The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.”

While some may take offense at the harsh, cold reality, I believe that we should look at ways of protecting our precious children, rather than making them more vulnerable. I am committed to doing all I can, including the willingness to lay down my own life, to protect our children. I only ask that we look for solutions in keeping our children safe, not in some far off imagined utopia where no one breaks the law, but today. We have lost too many precious lives and rhetoric has done nothing to deter crime. My thoughts and prayers go out the families and community of these precious children who were the unarmed, undefended victims of an evil act of violence perpetrated by a criminal. My heart breaks for them.