Editorial: Thoughts On Gun Violence By William McDonald

A few weeks ago I came across a photograph that made me react in a way few photographs have before. As a writer I rarely am inspired by photographs alone to hit the keyboard. In the picture two young children are sitting cross-legged in what appears to be a library. One child is holding a book and the other, an assault weapon. The heading reads, One child is holding something thats been banned in America to protect them it continues, Guess which one. I could not stop looking at the photograph and soon tears began to fall. The photograph was released by Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America. This Indiana based grassroots effort was founded by Shannon Watts on December 14th, 2012, the day of the horrific events at Sandy Hook Elementary. The picture today haunts me; even as I write this I feel a heightened sense of emotion. The image of a small child holding such a weapon is stirring enough, but when the debate is over limiting access to a childrens book rather than a high-powered assault weapon, I am angry. I nearly began this article by stating the usual, I support the 2nd Amendment but thought otherwise. As an American and a political junkie, I do not need to affirm my allegiance to the Constitution, I have that document memorized. I have always known conservatives are hypocrites, but no other issue has cemented that belief more then their blatant apathy for action against gun violence. The response to the killings in Newtown has been nauseating. I was sickened when the sideshow of a man, Wayne Lapierre, said that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. That illustration is what I imagine a warzone would look like. Or how about the idea that we should start arming our teachers; are you kidding me? That seems like a punch line to a disgusting joke. Parents take every precaution to protect their child and kids are still able to get their hands on privately owned guns. The neocons seem to believe that a building full of curious children wont somehow find these weapons. Even the idea of having an armed guard in

schools is a sad image; I dont want my America to have to resort to this. These are not analytical solutions. These are simple minded ideas that require no thought process; a common syndrome of conservativism. Even as I write this editorial I have received the news that a 5-year old child has shot and killed his 2-year old sister in Kentucky. McConnell country. Solving the issue of gun violence is not limited to just regulating the access to guns, but its a start. To begin we must support background checks. We must ban deadly weapons like the assault rifle in the haunting image described earlier. We must ban magazines that hold an amount of ammunition that no hunter or sportsman needs. And we must close the gun show loop hole. Americas failure to take action on these common-sense responses is simply pathetic. These straightforward ideas, with broad support of the American public, are somehow an insult to those on the right. If these simple measures are insulting you, then you have been swindled by the gun industry lobbyists. Through high-jacking the NRA, the gun manufactures are making a fortune off the continued swindling and confusion of swaths of the American electorate and their representatives in Washington. How will it be possible to really address gun violence if the right has been completely mentally hijacked and their political leaders have been clearly bought and sold? For years politicians have been frightened of the gun lobbyists and have approached gun control measures expectedly. The tides have changed. Nearly all of the members of the Senate who voted against background checks have received a dramatic drop in their popularity rating. It is clear that Americans are tired of hearing daily reports of children dying from gun violence and with congressess inability to do anything to address the crisis. In town halls and in discussions with victims of gun violence, our elected officials who oppose common-sense gun safety are beginning to feel Americas anger. We must press on. Once we have changed the political ideology of guns, we can begin to take the steps necessary to keep our fellow Americans safe. We must address mental health. Not just opening avenues for those who need help but thinking of mental health concerns differently. America has ever so slowly begun to reshape our thinking on mental health but we must move more rapidly. Mental illness is terribly stigmatized and often pushed aside. We fear what mental illness is and how to deal with it. I know numerous families who know a member may need help but fear to address it. I do not blame them for this fear. I have thought about this many times before and it is a very delicate issue to address someone who may be suffering with a mental illness. This is why politics can help. We must generate legislation that makes access to mental health professionals to aid those who may be suffering. We must increase funding for mental health research and increase across the board funding for all social science disciplines; including psychology, sociology, anthropology and more. We cannot expect only congress to solve the gun violence issue. It is an American issue and must be addressed by all Americans. It is a parents responsibility to love and teach their children but it is societys responsibility to help nurture our nations children also. We are a community and we live amongst each other, there is no reason to not instill this idea to our fellow members. It will only help

create a more inclusive society, helping to generate better and more open communication of our ailments. We must address our communitys problems together. How we go forward to stop gun violence will speak volumes on our ability to take action for the worst part of humanity. To stop ugly sins such as slavery and turn the tide of homophobia we can certainly elevate our actions for this cause. These words have been more difficult to write than I thought. There are many people in my family and circle of friends who will be insulted by my words. If that is the case I encourage them to also write their thoughts. This is how we change the way we talk and the way we listen. This is the beginning of a dialogue. We need to change the way we talk about this issue if we are going to change any laws or policies. If we are going to reduce gun violence we need to reduce the violence in our words. I end with words from David Wheeler who lost his 6-year old son Benjamin at Sandy Hook Elementary. Mr. Wheeler spoke with CBSs 60 Minutes four months after the massacre. He emotionally asked viewers to find a mirror and ask themselves if gun violence could ever happen to them. Think about what you can do to change that in your house, in your community, in your school, in your country, because we have an obligation to our children to do this for them. It's going to happen again. It is going to happen again. And every time, you know, it's somebody else's school, it's somebody else's town. Its somebody else's community until one day you wake up and it's not. Indeed we must look out for each other in this complicated world. Our concern to protect only our friends and family at the expense of others cannot continue. It is our obligation to love the stranger as well. Strangers, like those closest in our lives, have the ability to change our lives drastically, either through acts of kindness or acts of evil. Its certainly now time to love thy neighbor more than ever.