Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Helpless outrage
This morning I talked to my Florida Immigration attorney mentor, Lindsay. We share the same political opinions and values, so we can talk freely and be instantly understood. She called on Monday night but I was busy doing something with Jan so I didn’t pick up. Today I texted her apologizing and inviting her to call me. She did. She was worked up into a froth about the school shooting on Monday and that was what our conversation was about.
Lindsay has a pre-school son and a 2d grade daughter. She said what millions of mothers might be thinking these days, “I hope I get to pick them up this afternoon.” For God’s sake, we just want to be able to take our kids (e.g., my grandsons) to school and be assured that they will be safe. No more days of “it can’t happen here” thinking. In 2022 there were 46 school shootings during school hours, so no longer can we assume that schools are safe places.
An article in NPR states, “If the parameters are widened to incidents after school, over the weekend, when a gun is brandished, fired, or when a bullet hits school property, that number leaps to 303 in 2022, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, an independent research project.” The title of the NPR article states that 74 people have been killed or injured by guns at American schools so far this year. Add the six precious souls in Nashville.
The fact that there is a database of these unholy happenings is highly concerning. I googled how the US compares to other similar countries where school shootings occur. Since 2009 through 2018, there have been 288 of these episodes, compared to 2 in Canada, 2 in France, 1 in Germany, and 0 in Japan, Italy, and the UK.
On Monday I was driving home from work when I heard about the shooting in Nashville. The information was still new, with a lot of confusion surrounding the little school where it happened. But it was clear that three nine year old children were dead as a result. Three adult school staff members were also dead. All I could do was repeat OMG over and over. The tears flowed as I thought about the families of the dead. I felt physically ill, trying not to picture my grandsons in such a place. They go to school in a quiet town in New Jersey that my daughter says reminds her of Webster Groves where she grew up.
Senator Blackburn from Tennessee was quick to respond with thoughts and prayers. She also has received 1.3 million dollars from the NRA. Let’s see, kids’ lives vs lots of money. Well, Marsha, keep you f*@^ing thoughts and prayers off my airwaves. In my own state of Missouri, Senator Roy Blunt has gotten 4 and ½ million dollars richer from NRA donations while an average of 1,288 gun deaths occur in Missouri every year.
Follow the money is my new mantra when it comes to politics. As long as gun manufacturers and the NRA keep lining the pockets of our elected un-representatives there is no chance in hell that they will consider a ban on assault weapons, or even sensible legislation like background checks. I don’t get how cold a soul must be in order to ignore the death of anyone, let alone little children, from gun violence.
My friend Lindsay feels helpless and mad as hell. It’s hard to know what to do besides vote for sensible representatives and contribute to safe gun laws organizations. But she and I both know that is not enough to stem the tide of greed and corruption in our nation’s capitol and with the wingnuts that quote the second amendment. That amendment was passed in 1789 and AR-15’s, responsible for many mass shootings, did not become available until the 1960’s. It’s true that back in 1789 there were guns that could shoot repeated bullets but none that could spray out 300 bullets in one minute.
I’m going to support Dick’s Sporting Goods. The company CEO decided to stop selling assault type rifles in his stores. Thank you for your courage, sir. Courage is what we need to stand up and take back our bullet riddled society.