web1_Crestwood.jpg

Crestwood OKs tentative budget, but director says changes to come

web1_Handcuffs.jpg

Hazleton raid nets two arrests plus heroin, crack and crystal meth

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Rabbi Larry Kaplan of Temple Israel was struggling on Friday.</p><p>With Saturday services approaching, what would Kaplan say to his congregation about Wednesday&#8217;s fatal school shooting in Florida?</p><p>Nikolas Cruz, 19, has been charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, north of Miami. His relative youth has revived the debate over age requirements for gun purchases in this country, amid heated ongoing dialogue about gun rights in general.</p><p>For Kaplan, the alleged shooter&#8217;s age called to mind other sensitive subjects: religion, morality and education.</p><p>The rabbi recalled a time when God was still a part of the public school system and other community organizations, when it would have commonly been taught in every school that there were consequences in this life and the next for evil actions &#8212; that a crime like the one perpetrated in Florida would result in eternal damnation.</p><p>&#8220;These shooters today don&#8217;t believe that,&#8221; Kaplan said. &#8220;They don&#8217;t believe in God.&#8221;</p><p>As Americans take to social media and comment boards to debate causes and solutions after yet another mass shooting, one of the recurring themes focuses, like Kaplan&#8217;s thoughts, on the perpetrators more than the weapons: &#8220;Guns don&#8217;t kill,&#8221; many argue. &#8220;People do.&#8221;</p><p>What makes anyone &#8212; but especially someone as young as Cruz &#8212; want to kill, en masse? And why do such crimes keep happening, especially in schools? Many wonder whether a sea change in moral attitudes, coupled with economic woes, have played a role.</p><p>&#8220;It all boils down to, we have had two generations of people who have not grown up with the strict rules we grew up with,&#8221; said Joe Lasecki Jr., owner of Nimrod Haven Sporting Goods Shop in Hanover Township.</p><p>&#8220;Maybe it&#8217;s also about the economy, loss of jobs,&#8221; added Lasecki, 48, who has been in the gun business for 30 years. &#8220;It&#8217;s not the guns.&#8221;</p><p>Lasecki also questions whether media fixation on weapons like the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle allegedly used by Cruz is distracting from focusing on the underlying social issues leading to mass shootings.</p><p>&#8220;They want to blame the AR, the scary black guns,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;He could have used a hunting gun, a turkey gun. Put in five shells, and it would clear the entire hallway,&#8221; Lasecki added. &#8220;And would we be seeing so much media attention if he had gone in and slashed people with a Japanese sword?&#8221;</p><p>Lasecki does question if someone as young as Cruz should have the right to purchase a weapon like the AR-15, which are legally available to 18-year-olds. Law enforcement officials have said the gun used in the attack was purchased legally.</p><p>&#8220;If they wanted to make it 21? OK, I&#8217;ll go along with that,&#8221; Lasecki said. &#8220;But how many more restrictions do you want to put on it? He was flagged as a nutcase.&#8221;</p><p>As reported by the Associated Press, the FBI said a person close to Cruz called the FBI&#8217;s tip line and provided information about Cruz&#8217;s weapons and his erratic behavior. That caller was concerned Cruz could attack a school. The agency acknowledged the tip should have been shared with the FBI&#8217;s Miami office and investigated, but it was not.</p><p>Kaplan, meanwhile, said he favors gun restrictions &#8212; just as there are many for operating an automobile, he pointed out.</p><p>The rabbi still wonders, however, whether American society is essentially seeing the unintended consequences of decisions that removed moral and religious teachings &#8212; and the fear of punishment &#8212; from the nation&#8217;s public schools.</p><p>&#8220;God-watching, if you will, just isn&#8217;t there,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL011816gunorder_cp_tk_2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">In this file photo, Nimrod Haven Sporting Goods owner Joe Lasecki Jr. removes one of the dozens of binders containing records of firearm sales from nearly 30 years of business at his store in Hanover Township. Lasecki believes changes in society have contributed to mass shootings. &#8216;It&#8217;s not the guns,&#8217; he said. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL011816gunorder_cp_tk_2-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this file photo, Nimrod Haven Sporting Goods owner Joe Lasecki Jr. removes one of the dozens of binders containing records of firearm sales from nearly 30 years of business at his store in Hanover Township. Lasecki believes changes in society have contributed to mass shootings. &#8216;It&#8217;s not the guns,&#8217; he said. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_RabbiKaplan-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rabbi Larry Kaplan, of Temple Israel in Wilkes-Barre, is seen in a file photo. He wonders whether a lack of religion and moral teaching in public schools has contributed to the rise in gun violence.  </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_RabbiKaplan-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Rabbi Larry Kaplan, of Temple Israel in Wilkes-Barre, is seen in a file photo. He wonders whether a lack of religion and moral teaching in public schools has contributed to the rise in gun violence.  </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p><p>and Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>WB gun violence rally today</strong></p><p>Action Together NEPA, a grassroots activist organization urging Congress to take immediate action on gun violence prevention measures, will host a 3 p.m. rally today on Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. Speakers will include lawmakers, law enforcement and victims of gun violence.</p></factboxMeta></div>

Guns, God and morals: Locals ponder mass shootings