The Sandy Hook Shooting: Time to Wake Up People!! (by anon)

Today is an extremely sad day for our country.

I would venture to say that this a sad era for our country. We now live in a time where we have to live everyday in fear of the violence. Gone are the days when people are afraid of dying in an airplane crash, car accident, or of natural causes.  No, now we must be afraid of being slaughtered while going shopping, enjoying ourselves at a movie, or going to school. We not only have to worry about our own lives being taken, but now we must fret over the lives of our children.  Parents should not have to think about these things when sending their precious children to school.  But yet they do, now we all do.  For if nothing is done, if no action is taken, our country will continue to wind down this path of death and violence.  

It is so disconcerting to see individuals on social media sites pledging their allegiance and support to the NRA when 20 children are now dead, 20 children who had everything to live for.  As President Obama reiterated, these children had their whole lives ahead of them, but now, nothing.  The parents and families of the teachers and school workers dead have nothing left but sorrow.  People are grieving and our country is in a state of mourning, and all that these ignorant activists want to do is politicize and tout their mantra “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” People with guns do in fact kill others, the proof is all around you.  So stop hiding underneath your ignorance and wake up!  All of these national shootings as of late were not done by hardened criminals who received their weapons illegally.  These shootings were done by deeply troubled individuals who were either able to purchase the weapons themselves or take them from people who they lived with.  This is truly disturbing.  One of the main arguments I hear from supporters of gun rights is that “criminals” who want guns will get them. Well, in this latest tragic incident, the shooter had NO prior criminal history.  

How do we deal with such cases? Do we just forget about them and move on.  It seems like this has been our strategy, and things are just escalating.  I call on my colleagues and friends to stand up against this violence.  This is not a Republican or Democrat ideal, this is a human ideal.  Put aside your blessed political opinions for one moment and unite to stand up against the evil that is overtaking our society.  Stand up against the hate, the bullying, and the intolerance that breeds such violence. Put aside your political affiliations for one moment and stand up to the weapons that fuel the violence.  It is deeply saddening that gun control needs to be a political game. These situations go beyond politics; they dig deep to the very root of life.  The families and the innocent people who have been victimized come from a variety of backgrounds.  They are Republicans and Democrats, religious and atheist, man and woman, child and adult, they are human.

To those who can still sit in your ignorance and clutch your deadly weapon with such love and devotion, think of that weapon killing someone you love with all of your heart.  I guarantee you that the NRA will not be able to quench your grief.