This must stop
Sunday night's horrific events in Las Vegas are dominating the news, as they should, as this is now the single most severe mass shooting event to take place on American soil.
We have a major problem in this country, and I'm not the right person to adequately detail all of the varying aspects of this maze of issues and positions and policies. But what I do know has already been said by people far smarter than I am: we need more than the "thoughts and prayers" of our representatives in Congress to address this insanity once and for all.
I honestly thought that the shootings at Sandy Hook in 2012 would finally be the tipping point, where a man who was determined to be suffering from severe mental illness opened fire on a group of children and their teachers. And it seemed at the time that something positive would come from that unspeakable tragedy.
But members of Congress stayed true to form, cowed by the financial shackles placed on them by substantial financial contributions from the National Rifle Association and other like-minded organizations and threatened with these same entities bankrolling a strong opponent in the next election cycle. And while they talked a good game for a time, they ultimately did NOTHING.
As I recall, the shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando more recently did not prompt a renewed public debate on the issue of controlling assault weapons, either.
And now we've learned that an unassuming 64 year old retiree had amassed a cache of weapons and ammunition and had apparently refitted at least some of his weapons to fire in an automatic fashion so that he could spray gunfire onto a crowd of outdoor concertgoers some thirty floors below.
I won't attempt to debate the Second Amendment here, but I feel compelled to add that the words written therein were put to paper in the late 1700's, when there was a need for a state militia and citizens to join with others to protect their homes and communities. Here in 2017 we're in a far different place than the framers of our Constitution were.
Certainly, there are many people who are responsible gun owners and use their weapons for the purposes that they are intended. And I'm not naive enough to think that regulation will come with a crystal ball so that those in charge will be able to determine who will use their assault rifles and high-capacity magazines for constructive purposes and who will not.
But I am idealistic enough to believe that a constructive dialogue can be had, that people in positions of influence can discuss the number of military-style weapons in the wrong hands and identify some possible solutions that everyone can live with. The NRA would do well to participate in such discussions in a contributory fashion, instead of simply saying that any controls or restrictions violate our Second Amendment rights.
I'm so upset by this, but I'm also most grateful that no one I am close to was affected directly by this heretofore unimaginable violence. And I am sick and tired of using my small platform to express this sentiment whenever events like this take place. And we all should be, because we shouldn't be afraid to attend a concert or a football game or any other event where people gather in a smallish space.
This must stop. Period.
We have a major problem in this country, and I'm not the right person to adequately detail all of the varying aspects of this maze of issues and positions and policies. But what I do know has already been said by people far smarter than I am: we need more than the "thoughts and prayers" of our representatives in Congress to address this insanity once and for all.
I honestly thought that the shootings at Sandy Hook in 2012 would finally be the tipping point, where a man who was determined to be suffering from severe mental illness opened fire on a group of children and their teachers. And it seemed at the time that something positive would come from that unspeakable tragedy.
But members of Congress stayed true to form, cowed by the financial shackles placed on them by substantial financial contributions from the National Rifle Association and other like-minded organizations and threatened with these same entities bankrolling a strong opponent in the next election cycle. And while they talked a good game for a time, they ultimately did NOTHING.
As I recall, the shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando more recently did not prompt a renewed public debate on the issue of controlling assault weapons, either.
And now we've learned that an unassuming 64 year old retiree had amassed a cache of weapons and ammunition and had apparently refitted at least some of his weapons to fire in an automatic fashion so that he could spray gunfire onto a crowd of outdoor concertgoers some thirty floors below.
I won't attempt to debate the Second Amendment here, but I feel compelled to add that the words written therein were put to paper in the late 1700's, when there was a need for a state militia and citizens to join with others to protect their homes and communities. Here in 2017 we're in a far different place than the framers of our Constitution were.
Certainly, there are many people who are responsible gun owners and use their weapons for the purposes that they are intended. And I'm not naive enough to think that regulation will come with a crystal ball so that those in charge will be able to determine who will use their assault rifles and high-capacity magazines for constructive purposes and who will not.
But I am idealistic enough to believe that a constructive dialogue can be had, that people in positions of influence can discuss the number of military-style weapons in the wrong hands and identify some possible solutions that everyone can live with. The NRA would do well to participate in such discussions in a contributory fashion, instead of simply saying that any controls or restrictions violate our Second Amendment rights.
I'm so upset by this, but I'm also most grateful that no one I am close to was affected directly by this heretofore unimaginable violence. And I am sick and tired of using my small platform to express this sentiment whenever events like this take place. And we all should be, because we shouldn't be afraid to attend a concert or a football game or any other event where people gather in a smallish space.
This must stop. Period.
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