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A few days ago, on the date of another sad tragedy, this young blogger asked me to re-blog her wish. I am choking back tears as I re-blog this. Unfortunately, today is the day to do so if ever there was one. My profoundest sympathy to the victims’ families.
8:48 pm.
Tuscon, Arizona, 8 January 2011.
Trayvon Martin, 26 February 2012.
Aurora, Colorado, 20 July 2012.
Chicago, Illinois, 22 October 2012.
And now, we can add Portland, Oregon, 11 December 2012 to the list.
Please.
Let’s stop the violence. Stop the shooting. Stop the killing of innocent people.
Let’s regulate guns.
patinaandcompany 
Sadly, add Connecticut to that list today. Unbelievable horror. We’re beginning to see gun violence in Canada too, but it’s usually gang members killing each other. I watched John Stewart ‘report’ on the Bob Costas -vs- Fox News story. With media individuals (can’t call them reporters or even professionals) spewing that kind of garbage, it’s no wonder there’s no will to change. Put it this way, there’s more regulation for baby car seats in the US than guns. When was the last time a baby car seat killed 18 children? My sympathies to all those with sorrow today.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. Gotta protect the “god-given right” of anyone, with or without unknown psychological issues, to carry deadly weapons without any restriction! So, incredibly heartbreaking. It’s amazing the twisting of logic used to ignore the overwhelming statistics and justify these inevitable, repeated and tragic consequences.
It angers me deeply that so many politicians who lobby for the NRA and other groups let their politics get in the way of their citizens’ safety. It’s irresponsible, because they’re just standing by and letting innocent people get killed.
I agree–they are in a safe place, often with heavy security, but most people aren’t. How is it possible to say all of these precious lives are worth less than this so-called “right”?
That’s precisely it. We can’t keep the laws so loose to preserve the “right” that people are using to kill others.
I think in Canada stats on gun crimes are overall way down over 30 years, but Toronto had a bit more this year. Most illegal guns come for you-know-where, though!
Well said!
Oh this is so terribly sad. I’m heartbroken. There are no words…
There really aren’t.
Thank you so much PatinaandCompany for re-blogging this, and bringing awareness to people who wouldn’t have otherwise seen this on just my blog.
You are very welcome. The biggest tragedy after a day like today is the denial of logic that attempts to justify the status quo and enable the next tragedy.
Exactly. If people continue to stand by and do nothing, just more people will fall to gun violence. It’s not right.
The change will probably come from young people like you with fresh courage.
We need to encourage fresh perspectives in the people who will be the next leaders and decision-makers: my generation.
100 percent right, Superkat. I am hopeful, and you have great new ways of sharing your ideas. I think it’s a conservative-thinking resistance to change that makes older generations less able to accept the obvious here. Older people have a harder time believing in ideals, too.
Yes-the older generation generally holds onto their old ideas from “back-in-the-day”. And, it certainly doesn’t help that conservatives encourage “stick-to-our-guns” (no pun intended) attitude, without considering change. To make a change, we have to change our perspectives.
You said it so well!
Thank you! 🙂
Amen, couldn’t agree more.
This morning, amidst all the fb outpouring of sadness and grief… I saw a response to a post referencing the role guns play in massacres.
The comment read:
“would you feel better if an attacker used explosives? should we ban knives? diesel fuel and fertilizer? also criminals could care less about laws that why they are criminals.”
This fills me with rage.
Little children were killed.
WITH A GUN.
Not with fertilizer.
That kind of illogic in the face of the overwhelming statistics is just mind-boggling! You can’t kill 26 people at once with a knife. Sheesh. Fertilizer, knives, ingredients in explosives: not designed to kill–it takes more effort and is easier to stop.
“Feel better”? Feeling better is not the point!
Make it harder to get the tool designed to kill! It WORKS in other countries. The only meaningful response is to take action to reduce FUTURE incidents of this type, which are inevitable without drastic change.
Also, “criminals could care less about laws . . . ” So, what? Don’t make laws, then?! Get rid of all the criminal laws as criminals don’t care anyway?
NOMINATED FOR A LIEBSTER AWARD BY ME! 😀