Given the level of security at schools, it seems improbable for a student to carry a gun into a classroom. Yet, it happened.

Authorities have said the child’s mother legally bought the gun and somehow, he found it.

If there is an object in the house, a child will eventually know about it. Finding it is only a matter of time. Whether it is Virginia Beach or Thurmont or Buffalo.

Many people love their guns. In this particular case, a 6-year-old child’s use of a dangerous object, like a gun, reflects more on the society he lives in than on him.

In Frederick and elsewhere, some take their Second Amendment rights to carry a gun very seriously.

However, for a society to run smoothly, strict adherence to legal rights sometimes falls short. That is why we provide groceries to people in need, open up places for people to find shelter and set up soup kitchens to serve the hungry.

It would be perfectly legal for us not to do any of the above. But knowing that the needs are there, can we live with ourselves without doing them?

At times, going above what is strictly legal becomes urgent. Given the number of gun violence cases we face because of a “gun in the wrong hand,” the situation is not only urgent, but precarious. It begs for a solution.

The most popular defense of guns has been: “Guns don’t kill people; people do.”

Possession of firearms cuts both ways.

For a homeowner, it provides safety. To a criminal, it gives a sense of security to get away with murder.

As long as the gun in each case remains inside the holster, there is no problem. When the two people with guns confront each other, one of them could be wounded or dead.

For a society to remain permanently afraid or aggressive is not healthy. It is a mindset that must change.

There is always the fear that bad guys are coming. We must ask: Why are they coming, if they are coming at all?

To sell a product, a demand has to be created. That is why we see so many ads on our TV and telephone screens, and in newspapers and magazines. They entice viewers to buy products.

Likewise, gun manufacturers love to see us insecure, afraid and dependent on their goods and services.

Over the years, there have been plenty of arguments about gun ownership. It has reached the level of an epidemic.

It is about time for individuals, for the safety of the society they live in, to forsake gun ownership voluntarily. Peace-loving citizens of Frederick should initiate a “gun buyback program” like many other cities have held. It can be done without using public money.

Many are convinced that activities like smoking a cigarette or having a gun on hand is their right. No one should try to take that away from them.

When someone does something to prevent them from their free choice of harming themselves, they become angry and rebellious.

However, it should be the other way around.

A school teacher’s contract does not say that she should be ready to be killed or wounded when teaching in the classroom. But at several places, that has happened.

Anadi Naik writes books and articles from Frederick. His books are “Song of Satan,” “Nineteenth of November,” “Blown Away,” and “Man of Humility.”