The most recent mass shooting (there have been over 350 just this year) in America was close to home for me. One of the victims lived in my community. The town where the shooting took place, along with the town where the shooters lived, are places where I do most of my non-grocery shopping. I have family and friends in both towns. If a mass shooting can happen here, it can happen anywhere.
Whether the shooters were terrorists or not doesn't really matter. Their religion and ethnicity, how or where they were raised, are all unimportant. What is important is that in America, if you can pay for a gun you can own it...even if you're on the Terrorist Watch List or the No Fly List. The day after the San Bernardino shooting, republicans in Congress voted down a bill that would have made the sale of guns to the people on both lists illegal. The population of America is one fifth of the world total population, yet Americans own 40 percent of the world total of guns. How crazy is that?
These republican congress members, and other republican politicians, are so quick to say that they're the ones who will keep America safe. They're so quick to say that they'll keep the families of victims of crime in their "thoughts and prayers."
Thoughts and prayers are nice, but they're not enough, and republicans' votes in Congress proved that they're not interested at all in keeping Americans safe from gun violence. They don't care how many die, as long as they keep the NRA happy. Because a happy NRA means money, big money, in their pockets.
My country is sick, and as long as there are people like this in power, it will just get sicker.
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Hello Victoria.You and I are both too close to what happened,so scary.I knew a couple of people who worked with the victims.I'm glad Our friendship in bloggerland is not based on politics but rather on fun interesting things We do have in common.I have to tell You You were describing Me, My husband and most if not all My family.I love the Mountains,nature,painting ,crafts and other things You love.Lets still be friends. I could have just passed by and not have commented,but I just wanted to also stand up for My strong beliefs too.God's protection over both our families and Us-Denise of Coffeeberry Cottage
ReplyDeleteDenise, I have never/would never stop being friends with someone because of their politics. I should have made it clearer that I'm only talking about the republican members of Congress that voted against the bill I was talking about. Love to you and yours...
ReplyDeleteI emerged from a craft creating coma culminating in the market yesterday, to then hear of the massacre in San Bernardino. And I thought immediately of you, Victoria, and hoped, wished, that you and yours were safe.
ReplyDeleteI'm (selfishly, I guess) relieved to find that you are.
Heartfelt sorrow for the victims, and their families and loved ones left behind.
Your anger in your government is totally understandable.
Over here, tough firearms laws are enforced - though some would say "loosely" at times, and it is mind blowing to read about so many shootings in the US. It's incredibly sad.
40% of the world's guns? That's frightening!
And seems very skewed in a certain direction...
I hadn't realized that this was in your own backyard so to speak. We all all horrified by yet another mass shooting -- and I am horrified by the inability of our Congress to act on even so simple and seemingly intuitive matter as banning sales of guns to people on the No-Fly list. And now the anti-Muslim talk and even violence. It's embarrassing; it's terrifying.
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