57. Enough Is Enough
God knows there are enough posts out there about the tragedy that just occurred in Texas. God knows there have been enough posts about the other terrible, awful, senseless untimely deaths that have occurred over the last few years. Maybe my voice is just another in all the others. But I have to say something.
Obviously, every single mass shooting that has ever occurred has been tragic and unnecessary beyond words. But this most recent tragedy shook me in a new way. Seeing the faces of the children who are no longer alive due to this horrific act, forced to mind the possible image of my child being one of those faces. I didn’t have kids before when the deaths of children have been mourned, but now I do. I have two beautiful angels that I’ve longed to hug and kiss and snuggle and laugh with for the past two months since learning of their existence. The anticipation of bringing them home and building trust and making memories is unreal. And there are no words for the possibility of not getting to see my little girls grow up, the people they’ll become, and the full lives they’ll live. Yet, that is the reality that WAY TOO MANY parents have to live with.
Do I believe that all guns should be taken away? Possibly not. Sometimes, there may be an emergency situation that tragically can’t be de-escalated any other way. But is this a norm? Is this such a likelihood that every average Joe on the street should be able to take one class and then be able to buy, store, and use a gun, no questions asked? ABSOLUTELY. NOT.
Most police officers will tell you they have never shot their gun on the job. Can you imagine? A person whose literal job it is to keep society safe, and they’ve never had to fire their gun. Maybe the hypothetical dangers that make average Joes think they should have a gun “just in case,” is far less likely than fear mongering would have us believe.
What about a “bad guy with a gun”? Like the people shooting up schools, movie theaters, concerts, churches? Obviously, there should be far fewer guns to make it far less likely that they’ll get their hands on one to begin with. And also, these “bad guys” are also human beings. What if, as a society, we would do a better job at listening to those we disagree with, helping people feel heard, showing love and compassion to those who “don’t deserve it”? What if we could make mental health services more affordable and accessible to anyone who wants it, so those who don’t have a supportive person to talk to at home could at least find it somewhere? What if just one person took time to listen to the “bad guy” tell their story, show empathy and compassion, and stop judging and punishing? Maybe then there would be fewer “bad guys.”
Mental health care is essential. Educating the general population on being better listeners and reaching out to those who are alone is essential. But so is gun control. I said above that I don’t think I think that all guns should be taken away. But what if, hypothetically, we lived in a completely gun-free world? What if there was no need for a “good guy with a gun” because there was no “bad guy with a gun”? I get that, for some, owning a gun is for sport. But there’s got to be a line. If you just like to go to a shooting range, why do those guns need to be filled with something lethal? I know some use guns for hunting - which I personally don’t believe in, in 2022. Yes, back in the day that was how people ate and survived. But today? Hunting is killing animals purely for the sport of it. To me, that’s unnecessary and cruel. It’s not caring for God’s creation. There’s got to be a better way to spend time outdoors and “feel like a man” than that. What about plain old hiking, camping, target practice with ammo that isn’t designed to kill?
Kids should not have to fear for their lives going to school. Teachers - people who dedicate their lives to educating and loving other people’s children - should not have to fear for their lives going to work. Teachers should not be responsible for protecting their classrooms from active shooters. That’s not what they signed up for and it never should be a burden they have to carry. They have enough to carry. If you have children in school, have ever had children in school, or have ever been a student in school, you were educated by a teacher who loved you for no logical reason other than the fact that they did. You should repay them by doing all you can to protect them in the form of rallying to change these ridiculous laws that force them to fear for their lives every day in the classroom.
What about at church? When you literally have a security team and plans in place in case of an active shooter? Many people who lobby for keeping guns in homes call themselves people of faith. HOW? This is the biggest hypocrisy I can imagine. Jesus was a person of peace. Jesus called for loving our neighbors and our enemies, not “protecting and defending.” Jesus gave one commandment: to love one another. How “God and Guns” bumper stickers became a thing is so beyond me. So many call themselves “pro-life” while advocating for the use of weapons that kill.
“But it’s in the Constitution that we have a right to bear arms.” Yes. It is. And that Constitution was written 250 years ago. Long before every modern understanding we have of mental health and how to prevent acts of violence. Long before we had crowds of people at movie theaters, concerts, grocery stores. 250 years ago, life was not what it is now. To justify why we should do something because of something that was written that long ago is absolutely absurd.
What if it was your grandmother at that movie theater, your father in that church, your sister at that concert, your son in that nightclub, your daughter in that mall, your 6-year-old child in that classroom? It’s absolutely ridiculous and I don’t understand this. I don’t understand how anyone can see news story after news story and still believe guns should be a free-for-all. I do not understand this and, honestly, I won’t. Usually, I believe that listening and understanding the other side’s point of view is the best way to make progress, but not when literally thousands of lives have been ripped away. Children’s lives. Parents’ lives. Grandparents’ lives. Spouses’ lives. Teachers’ lives.
Enough. Is. Enough.
