This morning, barely awake, I sat down at the table with a cup of
coffee and opened up Facebook on my phone.
One of the first posts I saw mentioned Las Vegas last night. Oh no.
What happened? Reluctantly I
opened up the NPR app and learned about the mass shooting. OMG.
Not again.
My first reaction was anger.
Why has this happened again?!?
Why won’t we do something to stop it?
My heart breaks for the families of the people who were killed (58 was
the last count) and the over 500 injured.
But anger is my overwhelming feeling.
I do not apologize for it nor do I feel that it is inappropriate or
somehow disrespectful to the victims to state why I am angry. I want to hold on to this anger and turn it
into positive action.
I am tired of simply praying every time this happens. Perhaps God is tired of it too. Do we really expect God to rescue us from the
greed and foolishness of our society?
Our creator gave us brains; I think we are expected to use them. I believe that God may share my anger. Does God want me to use my anger to work for
change? God is not going to magically
fix it all for us. I think we are
expected to do it.
Why does this keep happening?
Other western countries do not have large, numerous mass shootings. Other countries have stricter gun control
laws. Why don’t we? Many citizens scream “Second Amendment” when
there is talk about gun control. Of
course, the Second Amendment actually refers to militias, not individuals plus
guns in those days could only should one bullet at a time.
The primary opponent of gun control is the National Rifle
Association or NRA. The organization was
founded to teach rifle marksmanship. Until
the 1970s, the NRA focused on sportsmen,
hunters and target shooters. Now
they show little interest in supporting gun owners. The NRA now exists to support big arms
dealers. It is all about profit and
there is big money to be made. They
oppose any type of restrictions on gun ownership and in fact are now supporting
a bill before Congress that would prohibit background checks for
silencers. Who are they protecting? They use fear mongering to rile up gun owners
who worry that the government will take away their guns. People run out and buy more guns which means
more money for their clients, the gun manufacturers. For a long time I have wondered if the NRA is
connected to organized crime. Their
positions cause me to think this but I have never seen any proof. People use the word “evil” when discussing
mass shootings. I think this label
really belongs to the NRA.
I want to state that I am not opposed to all guns. I have family members who own guns for
self-protection, target practice, and hunting.
While I have no personal interest in owning guns, I will stand up for
the rights of responsible gun owners. I
do not believe that individuals need semi-automatic or automatic weapons which
are intended for one thing only—to kill people.
Convicted criminals and mentally unstable people should not own guns.
What do I do with my anger?
I have written and called my representatives in Congress. It does no good. They are in the pockets of the NRA. It is all about money. Do we fight it by raising more money? Perhaps.
Those of us who are angry and want this insanity to stop must work
together. Now. No more excuses or worries about being
political. It is already political—now is
the time for action.
I will not stop praying but my prayers will not be just for the
victims. I will pray for courage to
stand up to this menace, a threat to a safe, peaceful society. I pray my anger will motivate me to work for change in our response to gun violence.
