Like many Americans, I have been glued to news broadcasts in
these last few days since the shootings in Aurora, Colorado. We do not watch because it is
entertaining. Like the shootings at Columbine,
Tucson and Virginia Tech, we watch because our nations heart has been
injured. We watch because we want
answers.
The video images of terrified people running, some of them
covered in blood, some of them limping or carried by others, are haunting. Their voices cry out amongst the sirens, and
we realize that these people have looked into the face of death and still feel its
hot breath.
The names of the dead have finally been released; their smiling
faces frozen in time through family photos that play across our screens. We
watch as parents and spouses, sisters and brothers, friends and neighbors tearfully
tell us about these innocent victims that just days ago had lives full of dreams
and joy and we realize that it could have been us they are talking about…or us
describing the void we would feel over losing someone we love.
We will never really know the horror of those last terrifying,
painful moments. It is hard to imagine
the fear and panic they endured, along with the many other shooting victims and
those fortunate enough to escape with no injury other than their ability to
sleep without nightmares ever again. If only for the random chance of location,
millions of people who sat in a movie theater that Thursday night escaped being
terrorized by a disturbed individual and his weapons of mass destruction.
My two oldest daughters and some friends sat in a crowded
theater that night in Oak Ridge, TN. They
were excited about the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” and blessedly,
gratefully, I can say that they were able to watch the movie as it should be
viewed; in the innocent safety we all deserve.
Like most people, they did not know how fortunate they were until they
watched the news on Friday morning.
Everyone is very sad.
Thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s families. Churches are organizing prayer vigils. Politicians are asking for moments of silence
and for the nation to stand strong in support of the Aurora community. These are all good things. These are all important things to hear and
do.
These things are not nearly enough.
I am grief stricken for the families of these victims. I am also very angry. Not just at the cowardly shooter and
whatever demons in his head told him that this gave him power or made him
special, but at whatever happened to our once great nation and world that made
death and violence of this magnitude not only possible, but apparently “acceptable”
to many people.
Somehow, many people in our nation have been deluded into
believing that “Freedom” (a word quickly bandied about these days, but so
greatly misunderstood) involves getting what you want at the expense of
others. “Delusion” is the only word I
can come up with, because not a single person or organization can rationally
explain to me the reason why anyone outside of (maybe) the military NEEDS an
automatic weapon.
I blame most of this cultish psychosis on the NRA (National
Rifle Association), which has corrupted the original intent of the second
amendment right to “bear arms,” into a disturbingly defiant creed that all guns
are inherently good and are only corrupted by bad people. This is the same logic that breeders of pit-bulls
use as well, but most of us would prefer to see them behind a fence and not
running free as we walk down the street.
Despite all their bluster about “Freedom” and “individual
rights,” what the NRA is really interested in is money. They get money, in part, from the weak
minded who believe that one day the liberal government will declare martial law
and they will need their guns to protect their families from the rising communist
regime. They are sold this nightmare
fantasy through conservative radio terrorists like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck
and Michael Savage, and also by crazed politicians like Michele Bachman, Sarah
Palin and many within the Tea Party who spew hatred and fear to scare up
votes.
They also get money from the gun manufacturers, and it doesn’t
take a genius to know where their opinion falls on the subject of “gun control.” Automatic weapons sell at a much higher price
than other weapons, so hindering their production or sale would affect their
bottom line. Apparently, it would be flat-out Un-American
to put a few lives before the corporate health of Smith and Wesson.
The NRA has been one of the most consistently influential
political lobbies in American politics for the past 30 years, since it first
endorsed Ronald Reagan as a presidential candidate. More recently, it spent an estimated
$7.2
million during the 2010 elections on so-called private expenditures,
messages that advocated or opposed certain political candidates. They even got Chuck
Norris to star in an ad for their “Trigger the Vote” campaign, imploring
potential voters to register.
Somewhere, somehow, guns have become synonymous with being “American.” Worse, owning a gun and supporting the full agenda
of the NRA has also become synonymous with being a Christian. Hiding behind the cloak of God has been a
safe harbor for many evil deeds throughout history. Christian
settlers slaughtered thousands of “savage” Native Americans who stood in the way
of the “promised land.” Slavery was accepted
as biblical by many Christians in the south.
From the official website of the KKK comes this
introduction: “The United White
Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a Christian
fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation of white rights in America
today.” There
always seems to be a way for the ends to justify the means through some careful
interpretation of the Bible or the Constitution.
As a defining part of the conservative Republican Party,
Christians (or the “moral majority” as they once called themselves) have taken
a particularly callous attitude toward the poor. While espousing the message of Jesus
Christ, they support politicians and organizations which want to reduce or
eliminate government programs aimed to help the needy. While happy to send funds overseas through
various mission organizations, most churches seem to care less about the people
down the street who can’t afford health care.
It makes me wonder if they read the same Bible that I do.
In the aftermath of the Aurora
shooting, the inevitable discussion about gun control has begun. Instead of the churches taking the lead in the
fight to protect our citizens and create a more peaceful society, they continue
to side with the gun manufacturers, the NRA, and the politicians who refuse to
compromise in any way on profits over safety.
They do this with their votes and with their silence.
The main argument against gun
control always seems to be (as I have heard in recent days) that “guns don’t
kill people, people kill people.”
Actually, guns do a spectacularly efficient job of killing people. It’s particularly hard to kill a person with
your bare hands. It’s slightly easier
with a knife, but also possible to defend.
Guns are nearly a sure thing.
Point an AK-47 at a crowd and pull the trigger…someone is almost
guaranteed to die.
Of course, gun rights proponents
make other arguments too. A Republican
Congressman actually said in a news conference on Saturday that he wished
someone had been there with a gun to stop the shooter. I guess he missed the coverage about the
head to toe body armor that the shooter was wearing (bought off the
internet). He also must have missed the
part about it being dark in the theater (who knew?) and that the shooter had
set off a tear gas bomb. Yes, in those
circumstances, all we needed was another shooter in a confined space with a
hysterical crowd trying to get out by any means necessary. This was a US Congressman’s suggestion
rather than considering any kind of gun control.
Honestly, I will admit that even
strict gun control will not completely stop bad people from doing bad
things. But can any logical person
seriously argue that if removing easy access to automatic weapons were to
reduce gun violence by even one death that it wouldn’t be worth it? Can we
at least make it a little bit difficult for a deranged killer to get a gun that
can spray death? It’s not about your perceived
“Freedom” or “rights,” it’s about doing the RIGHT thing.
There is nothing Biblical about
automatic weapons. There is nothing
sacred about high ammo clips. Saying
that you will pray for the victims while continuing to vote for those who
enable the killers essentially makes you an accessory to murder. I
refuse to be silent anymore. I refute
the assumption that Gun Rights are a part of God’s plan or any Biblical
philosophy. I refuse to accept that our
founding fathers had a vision of these weapons when they wrote the second
amendment. I am tired of being polite to those who choose
the side of corporate greed and delusional arguments over the safety of my
family. I am taking a stand.
