Here’s a quick timeline of mass shootings in this country:
7/20/2012 – Aurora, CO, 12 Batman fans
12/14/2012 – Sandy Hook, CT, 20 six and seven year old children
6/17/2015 – Charleston, SC, 9 African American Christains
12/2/2015 – San Bernardino, CA, 14 coworkers
6/12/2016 – Pulse night club, Orlando, FL, 49 fun loving young adults
10/1/2017 – Las Vegas Strip, 58 country music fans
That’s 162 deaths, hundreds more injured, hundreds more who are living the rest of their lives without fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. This, all within a span of 5 years. This, not including Virginia Tech, Columbine, and the daily violent gun tragedies and accidents.
So the question is when, exactly, does a gun lover say “it’s too much. We’ve gone too far, there’s too many people with too many guns. People really are dying senselessly. We would all be better off without them.”? When does that thought cross someone’s mind? Is there a number? 100 people? 100 babies? 1,000 women and children? What exactly has to happen for people to admit that owning a gun is a bad idea? It should cross a morally objective person’s mind immediately. Instantly, when a tragedy like this happens. Give it up. Hand it over. Bury it, burn it, take it apart and throw away the pieces. You will live without it. I swear to you. You will live, your kids will live, and everything will be okay. This isn’t some government initiative to enslave you and restrict your freedom to do whatever the hell you want. It’s a conscious choice to make the world a better place. The same way you teach your child not to hit others in kindergarten. The same way you open the door for your neighbor. The same way you say please and thank you and behave in a polite manner. Out of respect for your fellow human being, I beg you, give up your gun, embrace your fellow American citizen, and refuse to live in fear.