An open letter on Gun Control

Are you a gun owner?  This blog might make you angry and for the first time in a long time, I really don’t care who I offend.  The truth is I have been silent for far too long, so many of us have been, and sitting in complacency allows bad things-tragedies-horrors-mass murders to continue to happen in our world.

Sunday night, my family watched a Netflix documentary on the Boston Marathon Bombing.  It was emotional, seemingly more so than I had anticipated.  My husband & I have both run multiple marathons, and he has run Boston 2x.  That year, he didn’t.  My best friend did, however & I was terrified.  Watchign the video from that day brought it all back, and I thank God every day that my family was ok, and my best frined was not injured or killed.  Others…. were not so lucky/blessed.  I remember going to bed Sunday night thinking, Thank God nothing like this has happened in a while (as I write that, I am totally aware having a standard of “in awhile” is absolutely pathetic and intolerable and unacceptable but that is what went through my mind, that is where we are as a world) …. and then Monday morning I woke up with a text saying “did you hear about Vegas?”

What is going on? 

Are you a gun owner?  Why do you own them?  Do you hunt?  Do you need multiple guns to do that?  Do you need 1000s of rounds of ammo to do hunt?  Do you need semi automatic weapons to hunt?  What is it with the guns that you are willing to allow this to continue for your “right” to “own guns”?  I don’t understand and really, am trying to do so….

It isn’t enough to get involved when you are actually personally affected by violence anymore.  We are ALL affected.  If you go to concerts, church, cafe, clubs, marathons, peaceful protests, school….as I have done ALL of them too…we are all affected.  Vegas.  I could’ve been one in that crowd.  My kids could’ve.  It could’ve been YOU.  Or your kids.  Or your wife or husband or daughter or son or parent or….. is that when you STEP UP?

I cannot imagine this was our Founding Father’s vision when they developed the 2nd Amendment Right to Bare Arms.

How does one manage to purchase 1000s of rounds of ammo?  Was it to absolutely eliminate the “herd” somehow, because that is actually what it appeared he was doing.  Those poor people were all sitting ducks- no possible way to defend themselves.  No idea that going to a concert was going to end their life….. And Why is it necessary to have multiple guns?  Do you just look at them in wonder of their “beauty”?  Please help me, and even more so those who were actually affected personally by gun violence to understand why this is necessary.  Why are we not all – every single one of us in America- shouting from our roof tops DEMANDING reform so this doesn’t happen tomorrow or the next day or the next day?  When are we going to stand up and look at this and say It’s Enough?

I’m one mom of two teenagers, who is terrified for their future.  Why do we live here?  It’s scary to think doing day to day things is now a serious question of “is it really worth it to go to a concert, because I may not come back home tonight…..”

My greatest fear is this will once again just be another “mass murder” and nothing, nothing will change because the NRA and gun lobbyist are too influential and in the pockets of our governmental officials, and we as the PEOPLE of this beautiful nation are allowing this to continue.  We are standing up!  We are absolutely demanding that something MORE be done!

It is NOT ok to wait until you are personally affected to say enough is enough…..Vegas….could’ve been me and it could’ve been you or someone you love, so when are you going to say, enough is enough?

I welcome comments.  Please by both sides, help me to understand why owning semi-automatic weapons is necessary and is it important enough for you knowing that others can also obtain them who “might” act this way in the future….. and for those of you who are feeling similar to me, how to we rally up and do something?  Our future generations need us to find a way to make the change…..

If not now…then when?

Peace……

Outrage Orlando: Where is the Love?

Inbox:  Email from my sorority sister, discussing our mutual concern regarding the climate of hatred and intolerance in our country.  After all, I write about peace….who better to discuss it with, right?  Quickly….email shifts from a shared concern of negative/hate-filled political ideology that appears to be emerging/growing in our culture to an “OMG- did you hear what happened in Orlando?”

Silence.  Disbelief.

Nearly a year ago, I wrote about my family’s trip to Key West.  Traveling with my family & my parents for our annual summer trip, we were there when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality.  I took photos of the city as the ruling emerged, a peaceful “hooray” could  be heard throughout the city.  While I was so happy for my friends and family members who are gay or lesbian, I am keenly aware the struggle for acceptance goes beyond what the Supreme Court ruled.  People are still idiots. People are still intolerant.  And people are still judgmental and unnecessarily obsessed with what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms.  I don’t get it.  Love is love.  It is that simple to me.

Let Love Rule

But what happened in Orlando is bigger than this issue.  While I mourn collectively with our county, most of whom I believe to be largely rational people, attempting to understand how something like this could happen….I sorta scratch my head thinking “how could it not?”

We have a mental health system that is broken at best.  Our judicial system does very little to dissuade convicted criminals from re-offending.  We have easy access to guns, including but not limited to assault rifles, in our country.  We have a growing trend of radicalized religious practices (not just Muslim, less someone thinks that is where I am going with this.  Radical religion, all of sorts, is dangerous in nature.) We have a growing intolerance of others in our country…..we even have political candidates, running for president, inciting audiences towards an increased intolerance of people based on religion or ethnicity….it’s like a perfect storm.

Don’t believe me?  Have you checked the statistics for mass shootings in 2016?  To date, there have been 178 in the US already this year, and it’s June 13!  That may have changed by the time I post this.  It’s staggering.

Shooting Tracker

I worry about our country.  We can pray.  We can hope.  We can gather together in candle light services, but until we do something to radically assess gun laws in our country, all our  “community bonding efforts” appear to be in vain.

Really, if children in an elementary school, or people going to the movie theater, or college kids studying in a classroom, or some gay latino men gathering at a dance club aren’t safe….all seemingly harmless activities, then how can any of us sit and be silent thinking we are safe? And why are we not in an uproar for all of these people who are no longer here to do so?

How does Australia survive without guns?

I have been writing on the subject of peace, both on my personal journey and those around me, for several years.   I have this small audience I can attempt to plant seeds in an effort to spread peace around the world.  It’s my vision….truly.  Grandiose? Yes…but it’s my vision. However, I am cognizant that it is so limited and until we create a world that makes it really very hard for some person who is having some sort of mental break, or some sort of delusional episode, or some sort of rage-filled fantasy gone horribly tragic…..if history tells us anything, these episodes are going to do nothing but increase.

I am sending my oldest son to college in the fall.  I wish my greatest concern for him, like it probably was for my parents, was whether or not he’d study for his exams or whether or not he’d call me while he was away or whether or not he’d ever eat a vegetable during the week or whether or not he’d drink to much at a party…..those should be my biggest worries.

Anyone have ideas?  Let’s ban together…..with a plan.…..send me your thoughts for how to make this world truly a more peaceful place.  Or may be Australia wants a few million new residents?

Peace…….