I don’t want to make this a political issue. I want to make it a human issue. I don’t want the government to come take all the guns and destroy them. I don’t know how they could possibly do that, anyway. There’s way too many of them. But there is one thing that is perfectly clear to me.
We have to do something.
The King Soopers shooter was born three days before the Columbine shooting. Twenty-one years ago. How many have there been since then? Yeah…I know. A lot less than car accidents and heart attacks and cancer and Covid. I get that. But, this is supposed to be a civilized society.
After living in Colorado for forty years, and as a mother and grandmother and sister and friend of Colorado residents…my heart was in my throat when I heard “King Soopers Shooter” and “Colorado” in the same sentence. Where are my kids? My grandchildren? My friends? When they said the shooting was in Boulder, I had one second of relief. Then I was drawn back to the thought of all this unimaginable loss. My heart squeezed tight thinking of the shoppers that witnessed the shooting. The family members with the knock on the door.
The inevitable “I’m so sorry”.
Then I got angry. I felt like he’d messed with MY people…MY state…MY home. I wanted to scream….
“Stop it! Just STOP!!!”
We have to DO something.
But what? Sensible gun control? Register ammunition? Draw and quarter mass shooters in the village square? It appears from early statements there may be mental illness at play in this case…although, how can you say anyone who commits such an atrocity is sane? At the very least…make it more difficult to get a lethal weapon. Hell, I had to sign a contract with my doctor to have regular appointments to monitor my use of anxiety medication. But, I could go out tomorrow and buy an AR-15???
How long can we sit in our comfortable homes with our families around us and “send our thoughts and prayers” for these innocent victims and their families? It seems such empty rhetoric. The easy way out.
The families of every victim of gun violence need so much more than our thoughts and prayers.
When is enough going to really BE enough?
Please….please…just make it STOP.
Sending thoughts and prayers then moving on the next week isn’t cutting it anymore.
WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING…NOW!!!
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“Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.”
Matthew 26:52 ESV
“Hate” is the commodity that is being sold on our streets. “Hate” is being bought and sold on every form of media throughout our land.
The tongue is a powerful weapon, a world of iniquity. James 3:1-18
Guns are nothing more than a tool. A tool that allows hate to be manifested.
Until we find a way to eliminate Hate and control the tongue, there will always be methods, tools and implements to inflict this evil.
It is supremely naive to think we can stop this evil by taking away one of many tools rather than addressing the root.
It also seeks to leave others vulnerable and at the mercy of this evil.
Again…I am NOT advocating removing all guns. I am advocating sensible solutions to get and keep guns out of the hands of people with a criminal background. And NO ONE needs a semiautomatic rifle outside of law enforcement and the military. If you want to shoot military style weapons, then join the military.
Amen
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I’m all in favor of background checks. I’m in favor of waiting periods. I’m not in favor of guns being confiscated by government entities of any level. The problem with proces is that criminals, by definition, don’t obey laws and there is not enough trained law enforcement officers to protect everyone. I personally don’t own a gun, but I’m one of the few members of my family that can say that. It’s a personal choice.
I absolutely agree…they can’t come get my guns. But I don’t (and WON’T) own military-style assault rifles and I’ll be happy to have any kind of waiting period and background check they want. We just need to get assault rifles off the streets and do SOMETHING to turn this mess around. ?