metro >> on the cover ...helping children and Caring. Helping. Mental Illness. KADIMA t adults with mental illness move forward in their live '44 The past thirteen years in United States schools, we have experienced anguish that... • 22 elementary children and 6 of their teachers/administrators were killed • 5 middle school children and 1 administrator/teacher were killed • 7 middle school children were wounded • 31 high school children and 12 of their teachers/administrators were killed • 56 high school students and 3 of their teachers/administrators were wounded • 41 college students and 11 of their professors/administrators were killed • 17 college students and 4 of their professors/administrators were wounded To these staggering numbers, we add the 6 killed and 11 wounded in Tucson, AZ, the 12 killed and 38 wounded in Aurora, CO, the 6 killed and 3 wounded in Oak Creek, WI, the 2 killed and 1 wounded in Portland, OR and countless other murders committed against innocent victims in our country. Is this mental illness? What we at Kadima know is that our community has a collective responsibility to contemplate these numbers and move beyond awareness to action. We have also learned that the earlier services are provided to children with emotional and behavioral disorders, the better the long-term outcomes. You can make a difference... Contact your local, state and national elected officials to ensure that mental health funding is not cut and that programs and services are not eliminated. Help reduce the stigma so often associated with mental illness by knowing and sharing with others that only a very small minority of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or schizo-affective disorder are dangerous. Make a donation to Kadima to ensure continuity of the professional and meaningful services we provide to children with emotional and behavioral disorders and adults with chronic mental illness. If you, or someone you know, need Kadima please contact 248.559.8235. Kadima . 15999 W. Twelve Mile Road . Southfield, Ml 48076. www.kadimacenter.org 10 January 24 • 2013 Gun Control Some Jewish views of Obama's efforts after Sandy Hook. Harry Kirsbaum I Contributing Writer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 members of faith-based communities, we need to find a way to come together to have a serious national conversation about the culture of violence in our society so that Congress can work in a bipartisan way to pass comprehensive gun violence legislation:' Rabbis Weigh In Rabbi Joseph Klein of Temple Emanu- El in Oak Park said the measures would not infringe on the rights of citizens, and there is no reason to be paranoid that the country is going the way of Hitler in the 1930s, when the gov- ernment took away guns from citizens. Rabbi Klein "If there are Jews who favor free access to guns in order to protect themselves if the government `comes to get them: then they don't live in the same country I do:' he said. "My America is not Germany in the 1930s. I do not live in fear that my country will turn against the Jews. I am, however, very fearful of the proliferation of hand- guns and assault rifles that increas- ingly threatens the well-being of all Americans. I favor banning all weapons with detachable magazines:' Rabbi Alon Tolwin of the local Aish HaTorah said the issue is very complex. "We are a product of many sub-cul- tures, and it is that very diversity that makes us so great:' he said. "Who would attempt to tinker with this bal- ance that has taken 300 years to create? It is clear that there must be some way to limit the access to guns by people who are mentally ill. Who is mentally ill? Who is not mentally ill at one point or another in one's lifetime? "The Talmud says that dogs are stupid because they bite the stick that hits them and don't notice the person holding the stick. The gun is a stick and biting the stick is stupid. We are faced by very serious social issues. "Look at the cancers that are eating us away from the inside. When the rates of illegitimate births in most major urban areas are more than 85 percent, and, in that very environment, the No. 1 cause of death among young men is gun-related violence, and when only 21 percent of these children are graduating high school, we have much more seri- ous problems:' he said. "These laws are a bandage on a cancer that is eating us alive, and that bandage will fall off the first time we take a shower:' Jewish Shooting Club Since 2007, Jews — men and women, Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox from 20-75 years old — have been meeting regularly to participate in the sport of trap and pistol shooting at local gun ranges. "This is basically a sports club:' said Ron Miller, founder of the Detroit Jewish Cigar and Shooting Club, which has slightly more than 100 members. "It's for people who want to shoot because they enjoy shooting. There's no hunting, no self-defense; it's not a political group. We're not getting hyped up about any- thing; we just enjoy shooting as a sport:' Miller of West Bloomfield, a member of the Bais Chabad Torah Center, said that Obama has been an advocate of gun control, and he's using the current situa- tion "to change the way we look at guns in the country:' Shooting Club Secretary Stuart Weiss said Obama's actions are misplaced. "Any actions target- ing lawful gun owners will have no effect whatsoever on vio- Stu Weiss lence, including gun violence said Weiss of West Bloomfield. "Obama's actions are consistent with the views he has always held. He is on record as stating his support for state leg- islation to 'ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns: and he voted to not allow the use of a firearm to defend oneself in one's own home:' Weiss, also a Bais Chabad Torah Center member, said many have decided to "vilify gun owners but continue to coddle violent and deranged people. These incidents [Sandy Hook] are horrif- ic, but punishing law-abiding gun own- ers for the acts of a very small number of sick people is nonsensical:' ❑ Where do you stand on gun control? To tell us, visit Detroit Jewish News on Facebook or send an email to letters@renmedia.us (include name, city and day phone number).