March 29, 2021

Last week saw another mass shooting. One week ago on March 22, 2021, 10 people were slain in a Boulder, Colorado, grocery store. This comes only five days afger the spa rampage in Atlanta. How long will it take before lawmakers acknowledge we have a serious problem? Who has to die?

I do not know the answer since 17 children gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary school in 2012 did not move them to action. Every year that passes, it seems fewer and fewer states and venues escape this nightmare. A Waffle House in my state, nightclubs, movie theaters, schools, festivals, houses of worship, spas, and grocery stores are all places these slayings have occurred.

Yet, the lies and misinformation about gun control legislation persist. My personal favorite and the one I hear most is, "Democrats are trying to take guns away from lawful owners," or some iteration thereof. This is laughably and absurdly false. It is time to debunk the junk.

Opponents will likely cite the buy-back programs that have been proposed as part of the solution to this problem. The fact is nowhere in these programs does it demand people turn over all their firearms. Nobody is suggesting teams be deployed around the country with bins to tote every single gun away. If such a bill were to somehow pass, it would be quickly overturned, as it should be, because it would be a blatant violation of the Second Amendment. The buy-back program is lawful and completely voluntary, meaning people can choose whether or not they want to take part. So, Ladybug, quit clutching your South Carolina pearls about your AR-15; it's as safe as it has always been or ever will be. You can put away the smelling salts, too. The whole "damsel in distress" routine is really annoying.

Next is the assumption gun reform measures will not work. My rebuttal is simple. First, I would remind you, yet again, of the saying about assumptions. Then, I have but one simple question: How do you know unless you actually try?

Now, I am not naive enough to believe the most stringent measures will stop every incident. I know shoootings will still happen. However, they can be significantly reduced to the point where they even become anomalies again instead of the norm, and the death tolls could be drastically reduced.

Do not run to the beach again while we are in need. Remember El Paso? That happened in your state. What have you done to help them? That's what I thought...nothing. We are not freezing from a brutal winter storm this time; we are in county and state morgue freezers with bullet holes in our bodies.

Exhausted does not even begin to describe how the majority of people feel about having to be in a near constant state of grief as another community is scarred by a senseless mass casualty event. When "our hearts go out to the families of the victims," "our thoughts and prayers go out to __________," and "#_______________ Strong" become cliché, something is deeply wrong and broken. Enough of your empty words; I am sick of hearing them. The time for rational, adult, sensible action is NOW.

It is too late for the children of Columbine, Sandy Hook, and Parkland, but there are still living, breathing people in this country who can, and frankly should, be protected by reasonable gun control measures. This is not "political theater." These are our lives!

Never forget you work for me, and I demand you stop playing political games with the lives of the American people at once!