Three minutes after the President’s address on Thursday night, another shooting took place in Ames, Iowa. Three people laid dead in a church parking lot, two women and the gunman who shot himself. Although this is not considered a “mass shooting,” it comes on the heels of Buffalo, Uvalde, and Tulsa.
The FBI defines a “mass shooting” as 4 or more victims at one or more close locations involving multiple persons, a firearm. and homicide. Over Memorial Day weekend, there were several mass shootings in US rural and urban settings and, according to Gun Violence Archive (GVA,) there have been 20 mass shootings since Uvalde. There seems to be too many of these shootings to report. No wonder people in the US are afraid for their lives and the lives of their children. They are asking where is their constitutional right to freedom? Where are our rights to live in a safe place without guns?
We must ask, are we living in some sort of hell where there are more guns in this country than households? We are the only country with more guns than people. Mass shootings are no longer isolated events as they used to be. They are daily events. Shootings are no longer an occasional older person with a grudge towards an ex-employer who has “gone postal.” We are now a society in which children as young as 10 have made threats of gun violence. Irresponsible and irrational gun owners are killing our children, our friends and family, doctors and their patients.
The problem is that guns are now woven into our culture like McDonald’s and football on a Sunday afternoon. And the ownership of more guns and relaxed gun laws have brought more deaths and personal destruction. Guns are now the leading cause of death for children in this country but who is listening? Not the NRA! We do know that the “gun buying trend” has made tons of money for gun manufacturers. The number of guns manufactured in the US has tripled over the past two decades. That is big cash in the gun manufacturers’ pockets!
But why do gun owners need or want so many guns? It is like hoarding has hit the gun owners’ world and owning 50 or 100 guns is bordering on absurdity. It is a sad but a known fact that the purchase of guns picks up after mass shootings. For example, gun sales rose dramatically after the Newtown shooting in 2012 because many were worried that future gun control legislation would make it more difficult to purchase weapons. Some bought guns because they feared for their personal safety.
Yes, responsible gun ownership is a right but sales of semi-automatic rifles have gone viral over the years. But what purpose does owning rifles like the AR-15 or AK-47serve? These military grade guns have only one purpose. The function of these semi-automatic rifles is to make the target unrecognizable when hit. It is no surprise that these guns have become the guns of choice for mass murderers and a nightmare for hospital emergency rooms. These guns shatter lives and families. Despite this, the NRA continues to have a stronghold in our country. Leading the charge of gun ownership, unregulated political contributions from the NRA to Congress is like ants to sugar. The NRA has funneled tens of millions of dollars into lobbying and contributions to political candidates. To our disappointment, Mitt Romney is listed as receiving the greatest amount of cash from the NRA (close to 14 million dollars) as has Marco Rubio despite the average of over 2500 gun deaths in Florida per year.
The NRA and guns are apparently the current cocaine for a particular plethora of white males and some females. Marjorie Taylor Greene and those like her are making their marks as wicked women with lots of guns. Statistics show that most gun owners live in rural America rather than cities and most guns are owned by Texans and the least number by Rhode Islanders (good for you Rhodians). It seems that many men and women can’t own just one gun. For many, having a gun is like opening a bag of potato chips. You cannot just have one.
We ask how many guns are enough? We cannot find the answer in the current culture that puts gun and gun owners’ rights above human life. With the “Tailored for You” NRA at the helm of this movement, it is hard to rid a culture of such an obsession. As we look at this, all roads lead to the NRA which is comprised mostly of money making, red blood pumping white men on a rampage of profit and power!
Guns have not saved our souls nor have moved us any closer to peace and personal freedom. Guns are a status symbol that kills. They have served to push us away from each other. Multiple gun ownership has not rescued us from paranoia, anger, or insecurity. Gun ownership has merely become a part of the call for more worldly possessions but are more deadly. There are many things that might bring us together as a democracy but guns will not be one of them.
“Peace is the only battle worth waging.” – Albert Camus
March For Our Lives will be gathering in DC and beyond on June 11, 2022. Following so many mass shootings and incidences of gun violence, groups across the country will be rallying for Peace that day. Young and old, find an activity near you and come together to take a stand for Peace. See you there….
