I’ve lost loved ones to gun violence. Other posters probably have felt this horrid loss, also.
It’s wearisome to see the same hackneyed bumper-sticker comments about automobiles or other objects, “people kill people,” etc., and to see absolutely nothing being done to fix this sickening epidemic of death by firearm. "The current laws are good enough and we just need to enforce them?" Not true, but if the laws were good enough… how is our law enforcement supposed to do the job when we pay celebrities, sports figures, politicians and the lobbyists in their pockets (including those who stand to gain financially from the sale of guns, ammunition, and associated products), etc., like kings and queens, but we pay law enforcement officers and other investigative and support staff like paupers and don't fund their facilities or programs?
How is the government supposed to help enforce these things when the same people who tell us we need better enforcement are constantly saying we need less government?
Then there’s the problem of good mental health care. Look at history, see how we handled that miserably (and look at which politicians along with their pals in the insurance industry mismanaged that). So, now the largest mental health network in our country is the prison system… and, of course, we’re also supporting people who advocate making prisons “for-profit” organizations. Think about how it all works, hand-in-hand.
Those who love to taunt, “follow the money,” need to do so regarding the proliferation of firearms and the lack of decent mental health care in this country.
And guess what... it's not "either or." It's not just a mental health issue, not just a law enforcement issue, it's not simple. To act as if it is probably speaks partly to our frustration but also it's used as a way to dismiss the issue and allow the problem to fester and grow.
Rather than succumbing to the panic and paranoia fueled and flamed by those who stand to gain financially from all these firearms (and associated products) sales, I hope and pray our citizens will look at the facts instead of the flames. Sure, it's a great rallying cry for people trying to get votes but it's not based in fact and it's not going to stop this carnage. Rattling off self-serving statistics to protect your own guns is simply not the point here. We’re hard-pressed to find anyone who advocates "disarming citizens," there are very, very few who want there to be “no guns.” That’s just another myth, another incendiary bit of spaghetti tossed up against the wall to see if it sticks. People hear all the misinformation and they start to think it’s true.
We have a dreadful, sickening, mess on our hands and we simply can’t afford to allow it to continue. No, we can’t go back, but we can make level-headed change. How many of our loved ones have to be massacred before we do something? Are we now so invested in defending the criminals that we’re bound and determined to blame the victims?
Few things reveal your intellect and your generosity of spirit—the parallel powers of your heart and mind—better than how you give feedback.~Maria Popova
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