Back in August 2019, I blogged about the desperate need for gun control. Since then, absolutely nothing has changed legislatively at the federal level while more Americans lie dead leaving behind grieving and traumatized parents, children, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, grandparents and friends. We find ourselves in the midst of another massacre of young elementary school children in Uvalde, Texas. It sickens me to hear that number one cause of death among children ages 0-14 in the U.S. is now gunshot wounds, surpassing car accidents. And the greatest percentage of these deaths is among black children. For my post today, I revisited my 2019 post and decided to make updates and add additional thoughts. Here is that revised post:
I’m not a cynical person, but I find myself inwardly expressing a sense of cynicism as, yet another call goes out for thoughts and prayers and vigils for victims of three more-gun massacres by angry young men fueled by a hatred of themselves and humanity and enabled by Republican lawmakers who refuse to pass reasonable gun regulations. These Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz argue that guns aren’t the problem; the decline in morality and mental health is the problem. But if you know that to be the case, then why continue to provide easy access to deadly weapons to the “monsters” you know exist? There is a reason these same senators want to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of certain leaders; they know they can’t be trusted with them. They argue that the way to stop a bad person with a gun is to have a good person with a gun. Well, we saw these last two weeks how good people with guns didn’t prevent nor protect against bad people with guns. The armed security guard in Buffalo was killed and the police in Texas were too afraid to go in. The armed security guard at Parkland was also too afraid to confront the shooter. We must collectively do more than console ourselves.
I acknowledge that there is value in a community coming together to mourn the senseless loss of life and to encourage and find strength in the resolve of one another to move on. I know this from 2018 when my community was the victim. But my thoughts have once again moved to the need for change. And my prayers have again taken on the nature of “Lord, have mercy on us and help us change our ways.” I don’t want more vigils; I want protests. I don’t want hollow thoughts and prayers; I want legislative changes. In particular, I’m calling out Senator Ted Cruz and “Massacre Mitch” also known as “Moscow Mitch” who is the U.S. senate minority leader to push their party members to pass the gun control legislation already passed by the House.
Since these shootings, this past week, I’ve emailed every Republican senator with an active email address, calling on him or her to pass sensible gun regulations. I’m skeptical of Mitch’s recent public announcement to work with Democrats because back in 2019 he also promised to at least consider passing some form of gun legislation aimed at background checks. Nothing passed back then and now under 2022 pressure from Americans after the three most recent shootings, he is essentially making the same promise. Same political playbook and so I’m doubtful of actual action by Republicans. They are owned by the NRA and the Trump white supremacist base whom I fear are arming themselves for a civil war. Watch Senator Cruiz being interviewed.
The Second Amendment is confusing and has been interpreted in different ways throughout our history. It reads, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Times today are different than they were in 1791 when this Amendment was ratified. The question is whether or not normal citizens who are not part of a militia should be allowed to possess military style weapons without any sort of “regulation”? The thing is, we the people have the right to demand that our lawmakers pass laws that protect the general welfare and public health, especially when it is evident that the status quo isn’t working on our behalf.
I would like to return to the ban on assault weapons. Since it was lifted, mass shootings significantly increased. I would also like there to be full background checks, gun safety licensing, and insurance attached to gun ownership. There must be a ban on the number of bullets a person can purchase and each one should be registered to the individual buyer. These are common sense restrictions that any reasonable person who cares about public safety should agree to. We require safety licensing and insurance to drive a car because we understand it is important to keep people safe. Shouldn’t the same be true of owning a lethal weapon like a gun? And perhaps raising the legal age to 21 for such a consequential responsibility is appropriate too.
As for those who already own assault weapons, I think the government should follow the example of Australia and New Zealand who bought them back. We can either give them to the military or destroy them. What we can’t allow is for these guns to remain in the hands of local gangs, gangsters, white nationalist groups, and angry men. True hunters don’t need these guns to hunt. For those gun enthusiasts who enjoy the experience of shooting assault weapons for fun, make them available at shooting ranges where they must remain under strict protection.
The time is past due for Americans to abandon our perverted love affair with guns. We are turning ourselves into prisoners who are afraid to go to the movies, places of worship, concerts, schools, parks, malls, festivals, and even work. The very fabric of our society is being destroyed. The root of the problem with creating “monsters” might be poor parenting, drugs, hatred, resentment, loneliness, anger and some say, mental illness, but giving them easy access to guns turns them ruthless murderers. The time has come to be truly pro-life and to only elect lawmakers who support sensible gun regulation. These politicians should be earning an “F” rating from the NRA and gun lobby. In the meantime, we must maintain the pressure on Republicans to pass new gun legislation even if it is only for background checks as a start.