Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
The crossroads
Another mass shooting, possibly number 305 in half of a year. That’s more than one per day. The talking heads are saying the same things about the crisis of slaughters in our United States. We already know that these tragedies are facilitated by the use of rapid fire, large capacity magazine, weapons of war. Once again, the shooter’s mental health, or lack of it, is blamed for the latest tragedy. After all, “guns don’t kill people – people kill people” deflects the argument that we the people do not need to own high capacity assault rifles.
In the background I can hear Claire McCaskill talk about our status in the world as the only country that experiences these massacres on a regular basis. We all know that by now. Anyone who keeps track of news stories knows that. Our elected officials all know that. The stunning fact is that many of our congressional representatives are loathe to do anything to curb the sale of assault rifles. As far as I’m concerned, they have an equally stunning amount of blood on their hands. And they go on with their days as though this catastrophe is beyond their ability to change laws and policies.
The phrase, “Thoughts and prayers” is not any kind of meaningful response any more. In fact, I think the talkers are avoiding those words because they actually hold no meaning any more. There is nothing helpful about standing at a podium and mouthing platitudes. It does not remove the responsibility from anyone who can actually do something about this.
We, as voters, are at a crossroads. We have an election coming up in a few months. It is our only meaningful opportunity to elect officials who believe in rational gun laws. I don’t remember the statistic about the startling rise of shootings when congress got rid of the national ban on assault rifles. It was significant. So, if people kill people we live in a society where rapid fire bullets capable of shredding flesh is made easier by the absence of any sensible control measures. The other statistic: In 1994, when the ban was lifted, there were approximately 400,000 assault rifles in the hands of Americans. Now the figure is over 20 million. Twenty million guns capable of rapidly shooting millions more bullets. That boggles my mind.
Innocent Americans watching an Independence Day parade was a common scene across the country on July 4th. I have a picture of my little grandsons watching the Webster Groves fireworks with rapt attention. They sat on a hill with their mom and stared at the glowing display in the sky. It breaks my heart that it’s no longer accurate to say, “A mass shooting would never happen in Webster Groves!” Tell that to the people in Uvalde, Texas, or in Highland Park, Illinois.
I’ve heard a few elected officials say that we are no longer safe from mass casualty events. Not in our churches and synagogues or mosques, or our schools, or along a parade route, or at a music event, or a nightclub. And yet, a minority of elected officials are holding us hostage to the power of the gun lobby and the almighty dollar. It’s probably better to say that we are not just at a crossroads, we are at the edge of the abyss. For God’s sake, and ours, my thoughts and prayers are that voters will turn out in November and send some sensible people to Washington. It’s our only hope.