Las Vegas

This will not go away anytime soon.  Too many times we have been horrified by the war zone shootings at schools, movie theaters, stadiums, nightclubs and in the streets.  Did you notice the key word in the previous sentence was “shootings”?  These are acts of violence carried out with weapons;  not just pistols, shotguns, and rifles but heavy-duty military style automatic and semi-automatic weapons which can kill scores of people in a few short minutes.

Already the NRA & WH have commented that now in the midst of this tragedy is not the time to open a dialog about gun control.  My reply is “Why the hell not?”  There is no better time than now to confront the 2nd amendment rights people who believe their right to accumulate an arsenal of guns within their homes supersedes the rights of fellow citizens who want to live in a peaceful and safe environment in their hometowns, where they work, where they go for recreation, and most of all where they send their children to learn.

The gun rights people supported by the powerful government lobby of the NRA try to convince us that it is the people, not the guns, who create havoc and grief in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and our schools.  Guess what, gun advocates?  I don’t care anymore who or what is responsible.  I just want it to stop.

We have seen that gun shop owners and vendors at flea markets are not doing a competent job of regulating who buys their guns.  We have seen that law enforcement is ineffective in regulating gun ownership, and we have seen that the federal government is unwilling to displease one of the most powerful lobbies in the country, the NRA.

People, whether they are deranged, drug driven, violent ideologues, or religious zealots, are indeed the propellant in this epidemic of violence, but their solution of choice in carrying out their diabolical schemes and madness is the unlimited array of easily available weapons.  Your 2nd amendment right does not include the freedom to randomly kill one another in order to settle an issue which in civilized countries is resolved with dialog, mental health treatment, and gun ownership restrictions.

You and your doctrines of violence are the festering sore which won’t go away,  you are the cancer which is destroying our country, you are the scourge of a society which needs to find more avenues of peaceful coexistence.  Yes, you, those of you who proclaim, “only from my dead hands will they pry my gun.”  You are directly the cause of America’s great pain today.

Along with millions of others world-wide, I am sad and grieving over the toll in Las Vegas of 59 dead and over 500 injured.  But, I have grieved too often.  The children at Columbine and Sandy Hook, the gays at Orlando, the prayer group at Charleston, the policemen in Dallas are speaking to us now pleading to stop the insanity of the proliferation of guns in America.  The statistics of death by guns shame us, a society which claims the largest Christian population on earth.  America, where are your values and the morals which define your faith?

No, now is the time to be angry and press the gun control dialog.  If our representatives in government continue to sandbag us while pocketing NRA and munitions/arms manufacturers’ money, we must replace them with others who see the long-term necessity for a society free of weapons of mass destruction as used in Las Vegas.  2018 and 2020 elections are just around the corner.  Get to know your candidates and their position on gun control and the 2nd amendment.  Do not believe the cynics who say we don’t have the power to effect changes.  As our illustrious President Obama said, “Yes, we can.”