Another mass shooting. This time the worst in U.S. history! Frankly, I'm tempted to just write blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...for all the good it does to write anything more about these tragedies. Here are a few facts I have read in the wake of this latest bloodshed:
-The number of persons killed by guns in the U.S. since 1970 is greater than the total of all of the deaths of Americans in all of the wars we have fought, beginning with the Revolutionary War!
-When ISIS claims responsibility, all Muslims are condemned as holding to a "violent religion"; when a person of color commits a violent act, many stereotype all persons of color as tending toward such acts; when a white person commits a heinous act like the Las Vegas shootings or the Charleston shootings, he is dubbed a "lone wolf." How very sad.
-A bill before the Congress to make silencers for guns legal has, at least temporarily, been delayed. AND, the NRA has gone dark. My pessimism says that they will very soon begin their ridiculous rhetoric and spin once again, and plead for Congress to pass the silencer bill.
What are we going to do, people? Since the church I serve has committed to working for justice as part of its new Vision statement, I hope to explore with them some options, possibly working with an interfaith group such as N.O.R.T.H. (Neighboring Organizations Responding Together for Hope).
What are you going to do? If you are a gun lover, probably nothing. Some of these, in "fear" of new regulations which seem to never come, have gone out and emptied the shelves of gun shops since the Las Vegas shootings. Just what we need--more fearful people with guns...
It's again time for action. Again. Once again. What are we going to do? Of course, we will pray, and we will talk, and we might even write a letter or two. But these things have yielded no fruit on the gun issue. So? What now?
As a person of faith, I will pray. But maybe it's time to pray for more than comfort, even more than wisdom. Maybe it's time to pray for empowerment for people to make some changes. Let's start by working for a ban on semi-automatic weapons. I'm in.
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