Yesterday I was reading emails and I saw a familiar name (I have readers, friends sort of now, who write or comment regularly), and Lora began her latest note like this :
As a “Find the Good” kind of person, these senseless shootings have my heart aching to find good in a country where Republican Senators seemingly don’t give a flying fig about sensible gun safety laws. (Note! I support responsible hunters and folks who own handguns for personal safety).
Then she wrote:
On Thursday night, we got that text that no parent should ever get, “Pray, there is an active shooter outside the church.”
Her daughter works at that church. Two college students were shot, killed, murdered. The gunman then took his own life. At an otherwise comfortable church, in a comfortable summertime middle-American town:
I never want another parent to get “that text” – and I’m a lucky one, my daughter was safe (safe, not okay at all emotionally).
If that wasn’t enough to break this mother of elementary school teachers heart ( yes, I think about the what ifs- who doesn’t now?), she added this:
Would you consider a post urging people to contact their senators to demand bipartisan support of common-sense gun safety laws, such as universal background checks, red flag laws and similar. It’s about suicide prevention, too.I understand if you aren’t comfortable, I wish I didn’t need to talk about it, but truly feel called to speak up until something happens.
I understand if you aren’t comfortable?
How did speaking the obvious become uncomfortable? Who is making us feel that it is not okay to scream out against the every day murders of innocents– and the mass murders of worshippers in churches, synagogues and mosques; of black grandmothers shopping for dinner; Native women killed on lonely highways, children and teachers in schools? Doctors and staff in hospitals? Couples dancing… UGH. In any large airport or train station who doesn’t look around and wonder if someone might open fire in the line?
Here’s what I want to know–Can anyone truly swear, under oath, in public, on TV, that military-style assault weapons are the same as hunting rifles? Really? Is Fentanyl the same as beer?
Also, I do not believe that our country has more evil, violent and angry people than every other country on the planet. Most people I know are good, kind, caring and generous. Most people I know can’t believe that our leaders refuse to do anything about the growing casualties from this weird war we are in. I wish we had an American Zelensky to protect us.
The note from the gentle reader concludes:
I also joined Everytown, Moms Demand Action and Sandy Hook Promise.
Well Lora, I just did too. And I contacted my senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, and asked them again to please do something ( we all know the wish-list by heart.) I don’t know what else to do. I hope it makes a difference. Thank you for writing.
