The gun violence epidemic is both a public health crisis and a troubling reflection on our country’s spiritual state. As we seek policy solutions to reduce deaths from guns, we must also look critically at the culture that enables so many people to kill each other with guns.
I’m sickened. I hoped I would never have to write this message again — about how a person with a gun walked into a school/church/movie theater/nightclub/concert and killed 1/4/17/26/49/58 of their fellow human beings. The message about how a person with a gun decided that terrorizing and killing other people was the way to express their white supremacy/anti-semitism/misogyny/homophobia/hatred. And, while I hoped I wouldn’t have to write this email, I knew in my head and my gut that another mass shooting would come.
The United States’ glut of guns, culture of violence, and dearth of gun control make mass shootings — mass murders with guns — horrifyingly commonplace, and gun deaths one at a time even more frequent with an even greater toll. But this level of gun violence is not inevitable. Policymakers’ failure to pass common sense, responsible legislation contributes to appalling rates of gun violence in the United States, including the deaths of 17 children in Parkland, Florida this week.
Why does gun violence prevention matter to you?
Policymakers must take every available step to reduce harm and loss of life. Easy access to guns will continue to make it easy to escalate fear, hatred, and rage into slaughter. The gun violence epidemic is both a public health crisis and a troubling reflection on our country’s spiritual state.
We cannot be silent, and we cannot be numb. We must act. And the people who are elected to keep us safe must act.
