In a nation obsessed with guns and gun lovers’ rights, what chance does a 9-year-old have of making it through the school day anymore?
Gunned down children, like gunned down adults, are just collateral damage in the war to keep psychopaths armed and their profiteers rich.
Who in their right mind would shoot at a child? And who in their right mind would favor protecting access to killing machines over protecting children, over protecting anyone?
It is not just the disaffected, mentally disturbed shooters who are killing our children. It is the enablers, the purchasers, the sellers, the lobbyists and the Congressional leaders who refuse to do anything about it.
The massacre at Covenant School in Nashville was America’s 129th mass shooting in three months. It came on the heels of a school shooting in Denver, which came on the heels of two school shootings in Texas.
This is our norm.
And yet the gun lovers remain fired up. Evidently, they are OK with a constant news cycle of small children, shoppers, churchgoers, concert lovers, parade attendees and college kids being shot to death. Maybe they truly believe thoughts and prayers are compensation for a lost loved one.
U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee) is a gun rights proponent who represents the Nashville district where Monday’s tragedy happened. Even as he was offering his “thoughts and prayers to the victims’ families,” Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was gunned down in the Parkland shooting in 2018, was posting a disturbing Christmas photo of the Ogles family posing affectionately with their guns, according to the Huffington Post.
Then again, maybe the gun fanatics wince at the thought of a mass shooting in their hometown because it reinvigorates the commonsense, pro-children, pro-humans, anti-gun movement.
Currently, there are more guns in America than people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and those weapons are concentrated in the hands of less than half the population. How many guns do you need if you only have two hands to shoot with?
I get that fear is a motivator for gun buyers. But, these days, shouldn’t you be more afraid of someone rifling down your loved ones than of legislation to mitigate that?
In January, Illinois became the ninth state to ban assault weapons, the legacy of the Highland Park shooting victims and the hard work of sensible people who refuse to just let this issue go. The legislation is progress, but not nearly enough to make our country safe for its own citizens to live a normal life. This latest murderer bought her guns legally, officials say, so clearly there is lots more work to be done.
At one time, from 1994 to 2004, the nation had an assault weapons ban. It expired under George W. Bush; Congress didn’t renew it.
Last summer, the House voted to ban certain semi-automatic weapons. The bill continues to stall in the Senate. Hmm, maybe it’s not just the shooters who should have their heads examined.
Today, gun proponents even go so far as to cite precedents from the 1700s as reason to keep the status quo, according to the New York Times. People had muskets during the Revolutionary War, therefore, people should be able to carry rapid-fire automatic weapons today, the logic goes.
Indeed, the logic goes right out the window.
More Top Picks Best Pemf Mats For Athletes
Even though weaponry has advanced, human reasoning in America evidently has not.
Tennessee state Rep. Heidi Campbell, D-5, said on CNN this week that she believes most people in her state want an end to this madness. Yet, most people in her state do not vote.
It’s like anything else in life, gun control — or perhaps we should call it “the right to go about your day without being gunned down” — must become the passion of those of us who are not lovesick for weapons, those of us who value children over a well-stocked gun cabinet, those of us who don’t want ourselves or our loved ones to be next.
I’ll pause here to give a shout to the Nashville Metro police, who put their own lives on the line to take out the shooter. The video footage of their room-by-room search was terrifying to watch after the fact. I can’t imagine how those children and teachers felt going through it.
We need to cling to that horror. We cannot become desensitized to this issue. We cannot be OK that it was just Nashville or Denver or Uvalde’s “turn.”
We might be uncomfortable turning our peace-loving selves into activists — no doubt the gun lobby is counting on that — but there are times in life when we have to take a stand, especially if it means protecting our children.
I believe a united front can conquer just about anything. But we have to do the work. We have to go to the polls and then hold our officials accountable.
Not sure where to begin? Contact your representatives at www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative and your senators at www.senate.gov/senators and make your views known. Get involved with anti-gun violence groups and donate to candidates who support gun safety (www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/how-to-help-with-gun-control-12-things-you-can-do-now-to-stop-gun-violence/ar-AAYl1VH).
Stay outraged, stay loud, stay determined to shut down the ridiculous rhetoric spewed by those who believe the best way to protect ourselves from a spray of bullets is by spraying more bullets. Don’t fall for politicians’ twisted logic meant to protect their pocketbooks at the expense of your child.
I have to believe there is not a single mother, father or grandparent in America who wants to spend what should be an ordinary Monday being directed to a holding area where they will await word on just how strong their family’s luck might be that day.
Luck should not factor in to surviving the school day in America.
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years.