If Not Now, Then When?
If not now, then when do we as a nation address the very serious problem and public health issue of gun violence in America?
Today's gun deaths at an elementary school in rural Newtown, Connecticut are unimaginably horrific and my tears, thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost loved ones in this, another senseless tragic event caused by guns in the hands of other individuals in our society. As a parent, I can't imagine the grief, pain and suffering the parents of the eighteen children are going through at this moment and beyond as well as the others who lost loved ones today.
Have we as a society become so desensitized to these ongoing mass shooting tragedies that we soon forgot them as soon as the coverage or next news cycle begins? Where are the outraged citizens or even Pro-lifers who should all be protesting, writing, calling and demanding action from our leaders to stop this lunacy? When are we going to say enough is enough, already? How many other children and adults need to die from gun violence before corrective action is taken?
And when are we finally going to tell the NRA with their four million members, gun manufacturers and gun lobbyist that they can no longer hold us hostages to their beliefs, ideology and political rhetoric? I mean, this is the definition of insanity when an organization funded by just over one percent of the population can hold so much power or sway over our elected leaders at the expense of innocent, peaceful and law abiding citizens. Of course, the NRA and their supporters like Faux News always trot out their tired old argument that if concealed weapons permit holders had been there at the scene the outcome might have been different. What are we talking about here, lower body counts and higher collateral damage or what? How many times in all of these shootings did a citizen with a concealed weapons permit actually prevent the deaths or save the lives of other citizens? Yet here in Florida, Adam Putnam recently had a news conference to tout the news that there are now a million concealed weapons permits issued by the state like it was mission accomplished or something. Somehow, I and many others don't feel any safer or comforted by the fact that there are now one million people carrying concealed weapons in Florida.
Unfortunately, I have little or no faith that our often corrupt and contribution driven elected representatives will provide common sense solutions to this very serious problem and the public health issue of gun violence. However, the blood of these innocent victims is not just on our representatives' hands, it is on the hands of all who continue on with their lives unaffected and don't speak out or take action to end these horrific and senseless acts of violence. What kind of country have we become if parents are unable to send their kids to school with the expectation they will be safe and return home to them at the end of the day. Their great loss is all of our loss too! If not now, then when do we, one and all, correctly change the course before us and end this ongoing gun violence?
David Conkle
7:29 pm on Friday, December 14, 2012
We now know in this still developing story, that the bodies of twenty children, six adults plus the shooter lie dead and still in Sandy Hook Elementary School. The shooter's mother has been removed from the home she shared with her son, a Sig Sauer and a Glock 9MM, automatic pistols both capable of carrying 30 round clips, plus a Bushmaster .223 semi-automatic rifle. At present 28 lives have been lost forever; affecting so many others. When will it stop? Yes, we need to look at mental health funding, efficacy and access. Yes, we need to look at the effects of violence in our media, movies and first person video shooter games. But, we also need to look at and have serious debate about sensible gun control that keeps guns from those who wish, plan and carry out violent deadly harm to others. Currently, with the excessive number of guns in our country, it is now far to easy for those type of indviduals to access these weapons of mass death and destruction. And use them on others with such deadly intent.The senseless violence needs to stop now! We need to stand firm and resolute in saying that even one more death from gun violence is completely and totally unacceptable.
Melissa J. Dallago
9:40 am on Saturday, December 15, 2012
I couldn't agree more with your statement about the senseless of these murders. My heart is broken for the families, and we grieve as a nation. There are no words that describe the senselessness of this tragedy, especially the loss of the children. Yet, I disagree with your statement about the blood being on the hands of those members of the NRA or as you say those people "unaffected and don't speak out about the tragedy". That statement is a blanket generalization that is not based on any logic or sense. I am a gun owner, and yes I would like to get a concealed weapon permit. As a woman, I feel safer knowing that I have a means of protecting myself from someone who may be breaking into my home or threatening myself or my family. So by your statement I am at fault for this tragedy because I am exercising my right to own a gun. I agree with you that measures need to be taken to tighten gun control, but even if guns were outlawed the people who truly wanted them would still get them from somewhere. It is thanks to the NRA and responsible gun owners that there is some form of regulation and education about guns, and how to properly handle and maintain them. I'm sure you heard this before, but it is people that kill, not guns. So to blame this horrible tragedy on the NRA or those people who own guns is wrong. The sole blame for the horrible event is the lunatic monster who was pulling the trigger, and I hope he burns in hell!
David Conkle
8:47 am on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Melissa, you must have misread my blog because I said their blood is "not just on our representatives' hands" but also "those who continue on with their lives unaffected... don't... take action to end..." Now that you mention it though, blood is on the hands of the NRA, gun lobbyists and gun manufacturers because certainly they all contribute greatly to this very serious problem. Obviously, you've misunderstood my intent here as well, I didn't equate lawfully owning a gun to being at fault for this tragedy. Let me be clear, if you're not speaking up or contacting your elected representatives to help stop gun violence killing 34 persons a day, then their blood is on your hands as well. Yes, it is people who kill people, however guns are highly effective tools much too easily accessed by those who use them to kill or maim others. Ask yourself, do we really need assault weapons designed to be used militarily in homes, on streets or in the hands of civilians in this country? Oh, and while the NRA does provide educational programs to their members, they have most definitely stood opposed to all sensible gun control reform. So please get a grip on reality here Melissa, because you're backing the wrong side in this matter of life and death. If this response does not make sense or logic to you, then truly – you're lost in a woods of misunderstanding and abject stupidity. Sorry so harsh, as my wife says jokingly, "don't poke the bear if you don't want to hear him growl at you."
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Barbara Finkelstein
7:46 pm on Saturday, December 15, 2012
We need to find alternatives to violence. We need to talk about our children's physical education and what they need to walk with confidence so that they do not think they need to carry weapons to be strong and safe. The mother of the young man who did the killings in CT obviously though she needed a gun -- or guns-- in her house to be safe. Something is wrong with such thinking. The NRA is not an organization that will help us through this dilemma. They have been masterful in helping to create a mind-set about the necessity for guns. And their backers profit from it. I have no argument with the 2nd Amendment and am dismayed that support of that right is conflated with this crazy, crazy proliferation of automatic weapons and growing assumption that guns are the answer. I recently joined a local Quaker Meeting so that I can learn from people who concern themselves with creating peaceful means to address our daily lives and conflicts.
David Conkle
8:41 am on Sunday, December 16, 2012
Barbara, first I like that you use your full name and secondly you make a lot of sense in your thoughtful response. To quote Elvis Costello, "what's so wrong about peace love and understanding." I have forwarded a revision of this Blog Post to my elected representatives -- Congressman Gus Bilirakis, Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio as well as President Obama. I also donated to and joined the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence yesterday. I met Jim Brady in the lobby of a hospital where my father lay dying twenty-four years ago in Mt. Vernon, Virginia. At the time, I told him my family and I supported his very important cause. Today, as a parent, when thinking of these precious innocent children and their teachers who died far too soon and so horrifically, I feel ashamed of myself for not doing more to help ameliorate or stop these many senseless tragedies caused by gun violence. Well no more, I will stand up, I will speak out, I will hold our leaders to account until the day this insane and violent behavior is no more. To me, it is the best way I know how to help the families that have lost their loved ones far to soon through the continual and growing epidemic of gun violence in our country.