On the occasion of another mass murder / thoughts and prayer all round
Guns exert a seductive power over the minds of men (far less, it seems, over women).
And what a power that is: He who holds a gun can, with less effort than it takes to open a can of beer, end a life — whether of a deer or a fellow human; whether in service to sport or greed or honor, or in revenge for a grievance, or in obeisance to church or state.
To the dead and maimed, to those left behind, we raise a glass of thoughts and prayers (an act only slightly less useful that the government response).
“As of late March, the Gun Violence Archive has counted 130 mass shootings in the United States this year. Last year, the group counted 647 mass shootings. Of those, 21 involved five or more fatalities.” —NY Times
In 2020, 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the U.S. —CDC
The inability of Congress to ban assault weapons is one of the most puzzling and infuriating issues in our country today. Yup thoughts and prayers but what good is that when $ from the NRA and winning votes from avid gun enthusiasts is more important to our politicians than human lives. I don't understand why more Republican voters can't make the leap of imagination/ compassion by realizing It could be them , their children, their family that could have been or will be killed.
Also, the small arms industry which essentially owns the NRA and gun lobby is not in the chemical, biological, or nuclear business.