No. 1 on my mind is why are there so many school shootings?

There were 25 school shootings in the 1910s, dropping to 17 in the 1960s. Since then there has been a small but steady increase in shootings nationwide each decade, with 48 in the 2000s.

But in the four years since 2010, there have been 103. That’s right – double what the previous decade had in just four years.

I am not anti-gun at all. But I am pro gun safety. I don’t think it’s too much to ask to have people know how to use a gun before they have one. Just like I wouldn’t give a youngster a car without knowing how to drive one.

I think to have a gun you should have to take a class on gun safety. It is amazing to me the number of accidents that happen because someone doesn’t know how to look in a chamber to see if there is a bullet there. Or even the number of people who don’t know how to turn on the safety or to not point a gun at people or in the air.

It also amazes me the number of people who don’t seem to know how to lock up guns, to make sure others can’t get to them. It’s also amazing the number of people who like to drink alcohol and then play with guns or hunt. I think there needs to be more gun ranges so people can practice how to shoot well and safely.

I don’t think waiting a few days before you can get a gun is a violation of the 2nd Amendment. The cooling off period seems like a good idea to me.

Felons not being able to get guns seems reasonable, as does having to register guns bought online or at a gun show.

What is not reasonable is the number of school shootings. These are children, and they have no way to defend themselves.

If metal detectors such as those at the courthouse aren’t the answer, then are police with guns stationed at every school what is needed?

Did you know prior to the shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School Oct. 24 that it had only been three weeks since the previous school shooting. It’s true. On Oct. 3 there was a killing at a school in Georgia.

I was thinking the reason folks from Newtown, Conn., came here to give us the Dream Catcher was because they were the last school shooting. I was so wrong about that. The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, when 27 people died, took place Dec. 14, 2012. The number of shootings since then must be around 80 because there have been 39 just this year.

I also thought Red Lake was possibly a newer one because I hadn’t remembered it. That’s so sad. I hadn’t even remembered it. But that was actually on March 21, 2005, when eight people died.

As far as I can tell, the school shooting at M-P was the worst in our state’s history. Others I found include:

• June 5, Seattle Pacific, one death.

• Aug. 14, 2008, Federal Way, one death.

• Jan. 3, 2007, Tacoma, one death.

• Feb. 2, 1996, Moses Lake, three deaths.

• Jan. 31, 1994 Seattle, one death.

• Nov. 26, 1985, Spanaway, three deaths.

• April 17, 1984, Olympia, one death.

• Nov. 11, 1971, Spokane, two deaths.

Like I said, not a lot of answers. I wish I had some because I really want this to stop.