I am a religious man, but all the prayer in the world will not stop these events from happening. We prayed after Fort Hood, Aurora, Oak Creek, Tucson, Binghamton, Virginia Tech, and the dozens of other mass shootings that have taken place in recent years.

What is needed is better control of guns, and better networks for identifying and helping the ill individuals before they hurt anyone. First off, there is no need for civilians to posses weapons that are designed solely for killing people. The AR-15 used in Newtown and many other mass shootings is not a hunting weapon. It is designed to kill people. This weapon and other assault weapons like it should be banned.

Second, this country needs to reestablish a mental health system that can care for mentally ill adults. That requires government intervention, because there is no possibility for such a system to emerge naturally in the free market. No one likes taxes, but it is our duty to pay them to protect ourselves and each other.

The safety of all must come before the privilege of a few.

The only meaningful change Obama should be talking about for America is to bring God back into our lives and prayer back into schools. Not to establish a state religion, but to stop with the war on religion and to stop being so cynical towards church goers and church institutions. Newton, CT is needing these institutions and America needs them back into our lives. This is the meaningful change that America is going to have to embrace. Not government, but God.