“The flags were still flying at half-mast from the last mass shooting when this one happened.”
I just read this statement. A grocery store in Buffalo to an elementary school in Texas 10 days later. Not to mention a California church and a subway in Brooklyn, New York.
What we hoped would be the worst school shooting in history happened in Columbine, Colorado almost 20 years ago. This tragedy didn’t change anything. Sandy Hook elementary was nearly 10 years ago and the only change is children are now instructed to run, hide or fight in the event of a school shooting. They are subjected to active shooter drills as if it should be up to them to save themselves.
I decided 10 years ago, after Sandy Hook, that if the massacre of 20 small children and their six brave teachers wasn’t enough to enact some meaningful gun control, there was no hope. I hope I am wrong.
The NRA would have us believe the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. It sounds like something out of an old western movie. The statement sounds even more absurd given recent events. The security guard in Buffalo engaged the shooter and died a hero. Sadly he had neither the weapon nor body armor to match an AR-15. Hero is hardly the term I would use to describe the officers in Texas. The truth is still coming out and gets more enraging with every revelation.
I keep reading recent polls point to the vast majority of Americans being in favor of some level of gun control. The right of law-abiding citizens to own a gun will never go away, nor should it. But we can’t just stand by and wait for more of these events to happen.
My thoughts are with everyone affected by these senseless acts, but thoughts aren’t enough.
What to do
Cup of Jo wrote a beautiful essay the day, complete with ideas on ways to help.
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