Words over Weapons

One of my projects over the last few months has been curating and editing an anthology to raise awareness and money for gun sense laws in the US. Today I finished the first round of edits on the 38 pieces we’ve selected for inclusion.

While I’m thrilled to be working on this, my head is now swimming with facts, figures, and more details than I care to know about guns, shooters, and their victims.

My heart aches with the massive number of those who’ve died because of guns. The history of violence in America isn’t new, but it’s not getting better.

The same technology which makes it easier to find new friends also makes it easier for those with evil in their hearts to connect.

While I’ve spent the majority of my life working hard to see both sides of an argument, I can’t see the other side of this one.

My father-in-law is a hunter. He goes out a couple times a year, gets the number of deer he’s allowed  saying a prayer of gratitude each time, takes the deer to a local butcher, and shares with friends and family. No part of the animal goes to waste. He uses a bow or a single-shot rifle. While he’s allowed to use a crossbow, he won’t. “It’s not right.”

I have no issue with this. These are not the guns I would seek to eliminate or “control.”

Each time there’s a mass shooting in the United States, we talk about how

We need to teach our children to be more caring.
We need to address mental health in a more proactive way.
We need to teach everyone how to solve problems without violence.
We need to respect the rights of hunters and sportsmen.

I absolutely agree with all of these points, but no one has found an argument to convince me that civilians—those not in any branch of the military or police—need access to automatic or semi-automatic weapons at all.

The NRA claims that silly things like registration, licenses, and training infringe on our second amendment rights. Clearly they don’t understand the concept of “well regulated” or “Militia.”

I hope to see changes in my lifetime. Though if the mass murder of 20 six and seven-year-olds didn’t force it, I’m not sure what will.

All I can do is keep raising my voice.

It’s well past enough.

#DisarmHate

 

 

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