After the Columbine shooting we were told by the legislators in power: “Now is not the time to talk about gun control. We would be acting out of emotion. Any legislator who uses this event to pass gun legislation is taking advantage of the situation and is acting out of partisanship.”
After the Sandy Hook, Parkland, Pulse Night Club, and Virginia Tech shootings happened we heard the same thing – “Now is not the time.”
After the D.C. Navy Yard shooting – “Now is not the time.” Virginia Beach and Gilroy shootings – “Now is not the time.”
And now Dayton and El Paso. Is it time yet?
In 2019 alone 246 people have been killed and 979 injured from mass shootings in the United States. And our President says: “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger—not the gun.” No one denies that mental illness is sometimes a contributing factor, but a mentally ill person would not have killed all those people had he been armed with a switch blade.
We cannot change our President. We know that. And we cannot change those legislators who enable the President and who are beholden to the NRA. The only person we can change is ourselves. We must tolerate this no longer. We must be willing to elect people who don’t peddle hate, and who are willing to enact common sense gun reform.
Barbara Glakas
Herndon