The murders this week of 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is heart wrenching and tragic.
As a parent of three elementary students, I grieve for the families who have been impacted.
I pray that our nation never again has to experience another Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland, or Uvalde massacre.
It's too early to know all the details of this latest trauma, but one thing is certain - anyone who thinks it's within their authority to take the life of another human has deep-seeded issues.
Life is something to nurture and revere, it's sacred and a gift from our Creator, in whose image we are all made.
However, elements within our society have eroded this concept of the sanctity of life.
The pro-abortion rights movement in the United States is a prime culprit.
The most recent annual Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report revealed in one year alone more than 629,000 babies were intentionally terminated by their mothers.
In statistics compiled over the last 48 years by the CDC since Roe vs. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) show more than 46,000,000 abortions have occurred.
The pro-abortion rights crowd has veneered their position under the guise that taking a life is a "choice."
True, we all have choices, just as the school shooter had a choice. Some choices are right and true, others are inhumane and immoral.
It appears that in the coming days, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe, sending the issue of abortion law back to the states.
As there are some states that will have more restrictive and some that will have more permissive laws, this impending high court action is unlikely to have a significant impact on those who are determined to pursue aborting their child.
Furthermore, with Amazon, Apple, and Starbucks (and other companies) offering as part of their employee benefits: travel expenses or relocation to another state for the purpose of an out-of-state abortion, America still seems on track to be a country where abortion will be "on-demand."
The U.S. government, through annual funding to Planned Parenthood typically ranging from $500,000,000 to $600,000,000, is an enabler of this widespread societal decay.
Yet, as of late, high court justices have been denigrated by the likes of Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Additionally, protestors have harassed the justices at their homes.
Whenever there is an attempt to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the Democratic Party that seemingly has an unholy alliance with the abortion industry, objects.
Have we gone so far are as a country that even the slightest movement toward the sanctity of life is presented as extremist by the media and pro-abortion rights zealots?
Democrats running for political office this fall, as exemplified by Beto O’Rouke, are already trying to use the Uvalde tragedy for political gain as well as a welcomed distraction from the focus on the many failures of the Biden-Harris administration’s domestic and foreign policy agendas.
It's predicable that the media and legislative focus will be targeted on increasing firearm restrictions.
However, just as a sign outside a school saying, "Gun Free School Zone," won't magically put up a force-field, or that very restrictive gun policies in Chicago won't stop the city’s annual 3,500 gang shootings, further firearm restrictions hurt law-abiding citizens, not those who break the law.
The problem is not with the means by which these horrible acts are committed, the problem rests with a deeper condition.
Sadly, our society, as it always been, is riddled with too much hate and violence.
Whether it was a stone, a club, or with his bare hands that Cain killed his brother Abel, the point remains that the tool matters not.
What does matter is the evil in the hearts and minds of humankind.
Mental health is a serious issue that should be more seriously addressed within families and communities.
A Stanford University School of Medicine study researched 35 mass shootings occurring in the United States between 1982 and 2019.
Dr. Ira Glick who led the study concluded that most of the mass shooters had mental illnesses; conditions which were not being treated when they committed their crimes.
Dr. Glick explains, "The psychiatric disorders seen in perpetrators of mass shootings are serious brain illnesses — as much in need of proper diagnosis and treatment as heart disease or any other medical condition."
Mental illness alone is serious enough, but when coupled with a societal environment openly supporting abortion, it certainly can create an underlying, perverted global view that individuals have the inherent authority to take a life.
Those perpetrating these heinous shootings sadly have no regard for life — including their own. According the the FBI’s 2021 report on active shooter incidents, most of the rampages end in either the suicide of the gunman or him being killed by law enforcement or aiding citizens. The killers have a death wish.
Before the media and Democrats get everyone increasingly wrapped around the idea of gun control, lets first try rebuilding a society, one that would be best focused on solving the fundamental issue of valuing the sanctity of human life.
Alex Zemek currently serves as president of The Gethsemane Group. Previously, Zemek served at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Assistant Secretary (acting) for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention. Additionally, during his two decades of federal service, he served at multiple agencies in a range of disciplines.
Read more: Zemek: China's Deadly, Destabilizing Actions Inflict Global Harm | Newsmax.com
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.