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Perhaps the reason that America refuses to enact legislation that would make our nation a safer place for all is because we have grown immune to violence, murder and mayhem. It’s so routine that it doesn’t bother us anymore.
Surely, it’s not because of the financial backing of organizations like the NRA or other groups, including many members of Congress, who base their arguments on the Second Amendment, which protects an individual’s right to bear arms.
Surely, it’s not because of our fear of “the other” – those who look, think, act, speak or live differently and whose differences make us so afraid that we remain insistent on being “strapped” at all times – just in case.
Whatever the reason or reasons, we have long grown weary of the pontifications of elected officials who, following every mass shooting, inevitably say something like, “Our prayers are with you.”
That’s not to say that prayers don’t matter. After all, as one person once said, “Prayer is believing that God has the answer.” But if that is indeed the case, then why do we continue to refuse to listen for the solution to our conundrum?
On Wednesday, July 13, March Fourth sponsored a peaceful protest in the wake of the latest mass shooting in the U.S. The group and its supporters gathered near the Capitol Building in Northeast for a march to end gun violence.
And they marched not only to demand that America wake up and put an end to mass shootings . . . by any means necessary. They, like the editorial board and readers of The Washington Informer, recognize that the scope of gun deaths in the U.S. , has extended far beyond mass shootings.
Consider that just last week, according to data released by Gun Tracker, the U.S. recorded 491 deaths and 1,054 injuries for the period between July 1 and July 7. Tragically, last year’s death rate due to gun violence was 19,288.
Gun violence resulting either in injury or death continues to touch more and more Americans every day. Maybe we won’t see a change for the better until death visits the homes of those with the power to make a change. Perhaps. But that would be thinking pessimistically.
We can end this, we can change this, we can ensure that our children do not fear going to school, or attending parks or gathering in church or . . . walking down the street in their neighborhoods.
We can – but are we willing? Yes, sadly, “that is the question.”