No law-abiding American should be made to face evil with empty hands. ~ National Rifle Association (NRA)
I hear you NRA, but here we are again.
On Wednesday, June 17, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina, a 21-year old, white male entered a black church during Bible study, sat with the members for ONE hour — yes, ONE hour — before he gunned down nine souls, as he hurled words of racial hatred.
So what are we to do now that evil also again and again asserts its Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, picks up a gun, and goes hunting for law-abiding Americans?! What?!
There’s simply nowhere to hide from the homicidal unhappiness and mental illness of the few.
Here’s the thing.
People are dead. Children are dead. More of us will die. And while the 32% of Americans who own firearms may feel safer, more in “control,” I think it’s safe to say that for all of us our peace of mind is also dead.
And the grim reality is this: We law-abiding Americans aren’t safe anywhere!
Not at our public gatherings. Not on our sidewalks. Not on our highways in our cars. Not at our malls. Not at our movie theaters. Not in our schools. Not in our homes. Not in police custody. Not even at our places of worship.
Not anywhere!
Maybe, we were never safe. Maybe, it’s unlikely that we can or will ever be.
Ugh, are you terrified yet?!
I am.
Call to action: Are you terrified? Share in the comments below.
This is a sad, sad world that we live in today. I am seriously thinking of becoming a recluse even though this may be useless, because even in our homes we are not safe. However, what can we do? How can we fight the NRA when most of our leaders in Washington support them? I have concluded that this battle is forever lost.
I feel helpless and hopeless too.
I too was also surprised that gun ownership is on the decline. Paradoxes.
It would take 2 gunmen armed with machine guns shooting up an NRA meeting and killing 100 people to make a change.
All true and terribly sad, but if the murder of 26 babies did not push the country for better gun laws, almost nothing will. In a country that refuses to deal with its past, where climate change is doubted by so many, what real hope is there.
You are probably correct about the NRA. And that is what so terrifying — the lives of 26 babies did NOT have the power to start, at the very least, a meaningful conversation about better gun laws. It is so heartbreaking!