Three years ago, I heard the
news—that a man had shot and killed twelve people in a movie theater in
Colorado. It was not the first (and
certainly not the last) time someone gunned down innocent people in America. But I could not forget that a man had walked
into a dark theater and killed people, people who never really had a chance to
escape. If that man had lived in Oregon,
I could have been killed.
My friends and family could have been killed.
And here we are again.
On Thursday, two people were shot to death in a Louisiana movie theater
(several others were injured). It was
two too many. No one should ever have to
be killed so unjustly anywhere—not in a movie theater, not in a military base,
not in a shopping mall in Clackamas.
I support gun control.
I always have. But I know I that
not everybody agrees with me. Which is
why I’m writing this not to convince you that we need more restrictions when it
comes to gun users, but that we all, as human beings, need to do more to
prevent violence of any kind. That, I
think, we can all agree on: that these murders need to stop.
What can we all do?
Honestly, I’m still working that out.
But I know that we can encourage each other to be safe. I know that we can try to be aware of our
friends and neighbors, to keep watch on their mental health. And I know that we need to believe that there
is a way to stop the violence that courses throughout America.
Democrats; Republicans; gun owners; gun control
advocates; it doesn’t matter. We’re all
people. And I know that if we stand
together, we can face the real issue—the violence that needs to stop.
No comments:
Post a Comment