A suspect in the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, is now finally in custody. Ferguson has become a lightning rod for violence and protests since an 18-year-old unarmed black man, Michael Brown, was shot by a Ferguson police officer last August. More and more attention is being given to police killings and also to policemen being shot, in some cases, as an outgrowth of the Ferguson protests.

For example, two Brooklyn policemen were murdered while sitting in their patrol car last December. Their killer, who later took his own life, is thought to have been angry about the Michael Brown shooting.

President Obama issued a statement shortly afterward, saying “I unconditionally condemn today’s murder of two police officers in New York City… The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day — and they deserve our respect and our gratitude…”

A day later a Florida police officer, Charles Kondek was shot to death by a 23-year-old with an extensive criminal record. On March 4^th officer Terence Green, a 22 year police veteran in Georgia, was shot and killed in an ambush. The next day Philadelphia officer Robert Wilson was shot and killed when he and his partner interrupted a robbery.

Given the dangers the police face every day – as President Obama has noted — it comes as a surprise that the White House would back off plans to ban M855 armor-piercing “cop-killer” ammunition. But it seems that over 80,000 people expressed opposition to this common-sense ban. This despite the fact that the ammunition, which has no practical value to either hunters or target shooters, can pierce the body armor police officers wear when fired from a hand gun.

Nearly 300 members of Congress, including Nebraska representatives Adrian Smith and Jeff Fortenberry, opposed the White House’s attempt to protect law officers. Others speaking out against the ban include Sidney-based firearm and ammunition retailer Cabela’s and Grand Island ammunition maker Hornady Manufacturing Co., whose profits would apparently drop if these cop killer bullets were banned.

In regard to this issue Congressman Smith said “Nebraska’s sportsmen and hunters should not be prevented from accessing ammunition,” adding that he has cosponsored a bill that would prohibit banning any type of ammunition. Smith implies this ban would make it difficult to find ammunition, despite the fact that 168 less-lethal versions of this ammunition would remain available.

A recent poll by the right-leaning General Society Survey indicates that less than a third of Americans own a firearm. And I suspect that most of those who do own one respect the safety of our law officers. Yet somehow a small minority of these people have managed to derail a common-sense measure to protect law enforcement officers.

This is insanely irresponsible, though no less so than the fact than we as a nation have failed again and again to do anything to curb gun violence, even when scores of children are massacred in their classrooms.

On average one hundred Americans are shot every day. Yet somehow those who appear to believe that the Second Amendment prohibits protecting anyone from guns, including the police, are preventing common-sense measures from being enacted to stem this appalling toll. And so long as the two thirds of Americans who don’t even own a gun continue to elect leaders who embrace the paranoid delusion that reasonable restrictions on firearms equate to the complete loss of all gun rights, more and more police officers will join the hundred other people who fall victim to gun violence every single day.

I witnessed a lot of courage last weekend. It wasn’t someone running into a burning building to save a child or anything like that. It was instead a quiet, personal courage that’s easy to overlook. But just because such examples of bravery aren’t given much notice doesn’t make them any less exceptional.

The courage I’m referring to was displayed by local students last Saturday at the Conference Speech competition and last Sunday at the Boone Central Variety Show. Nothing about speech and music is life and death, but courage is essential for a range of everyday situations, including speaking and performing for an audience.

My son Thomas has been in speech for several years but Lori and I haven’t been able to make it to many of his meets. And unfortunately, we were late getting to the meet Saturday. But we did get to hear him and five other finalists, including his teammate Cameron Schilousky, compete in the final round of extemp. “Extemp” is of course short for “extemporaneous,” a category of Speech in which contestants only have an hour to research a topic and give a presentation about it.

Talk about pressure! All extemp topics are timely and complex, and persuasive arguments can be made for and against them all. Extemp speakers must find articles in magazines and on the web regarding their topic and then decide where they stand. And then they get to stand up and explain why.

It takes courage to stand in front of judges and give any kind of a speech. But to basically have to make it up as you go, following hastily scrawled notes on a small slip of paper is especially daunting. All six finalists were visibly nervous, but every one strode confidently in front of the judges when their time to speak came. One judge even commented that unlike many speakers who are reluctant to come forward, the extemp kids never hesitate.

I was genuinely impressed by these young people. Public speaking is one of the greatest fears people have, and no one would think less of any of these kids if they chose a less arduous pursuit.

But it takes at least as much courage to stand up in front of a crowd and sing a solo or dance. And that’s what a number of talented students did at the variety show Sunday. As a musician I know how nerve-wracking this can be and my hat’s off to every student who performed. They demonstrated talent, love for what they did and, like all the students on the Speech team, a commendable amount of courage.

Courage is a big part of sports, too, of course – so big a part that we sometimes overlook the courage of our young musicians and speakers. But they strive just as hard as our athletes do.

Underneath it all, all our young people are brave, whether they’re athletes, musicians, actors, orators or just adolescents. It takes a lot of courage, after all, to grow up.

Our community is fortunate to have dedicated teachers, administrators, parents and volunteers helping our children face their fears and spread their wings. But it’s ultimately these young people themselves who must have the courage to embrace the many opportunities that await them. The world is a scary place where a lot of things can and do go wrong. The courage and the dedication to doing things well that our young people display in so many activities, though, makes me confident they’ll have what it takes to overcome whatever challenges their chosen paths in life may present.