I Was Thinking . . . It’s Not Us

Several weeks ago, we came home from a Berne pizza outing only to see flashing lights from police, first responders and an ambulance just a few houses away. The first reaction is to wonder which neighbor it was that needed help. It is much more personal when it is somebody you know. 
Last summer a similar situation occurred when I couldn’t turn down my street because of the fire trucks, some that were right in front of my house. It gave me a moment of panic and then some relief when I realized it wasn’t my house. Luckily no one was hurt, and the damage was minimal for the neighbor whose house was involved. I’ll admit I did feel a little guilty that I was happy it wasn’t mine. But I should be just as concerned about others as I am for myself.  
When I first heard the news of the shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, I was alarmed. Some friends of ours have grandchildren that go to school there. I had a connection, so I was very concerned. 
It turned out their children went to a different school in Uvalde. I was relieved but shouldn’t have been since those children and teachers that were killed should be just as important.  
After this recent mass shooting, many called for action. It was in the news, and many people were enraged. But if you didn’t live in Uvalde or weren’t directly related, other news and activities soon gained our attention. 
But the lingering question remained, “How long can we continue to do nothing?” If it doesn’t directly involve us or someone we know, is it okay to just move on and forget about it? 
Since Columbine in 1999, we have had four major school shootings, killing 77 students and teachers. Of these, 20 were first graders and 18 others were 4th and 5thgraders. But of course, it isn’t just schools. 
Sixty were killed in Las Vegas at an outdoor concert in 2017. Forty-nine were killed at a night club in Orlando in 2016. Thirty-two were killed at Virginia Tech in 2007. In a church in Texas, 25 were killed in 2017. At a Wal-Mart in El Paso 21 were killed in 2019. In a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y. 10 more died in May. 
The thing that all of them had in common was that automatic or semi-automatic weapons were involved. These weapons are very efficient at what they are designed to do, kill people.
Those that wanted something done called for bans on assault or automatic weapons, require waiting periods, pass red flag laws, require more extensive background checks, reduce the clip sizes, raise the age for buying some weapons, do more for mental health, secure our school buildings, or arm teachers. 
But opposition to changes were just as quick. Some felt any gun law was the start of a slippery slope for the government to take guns away from Americans. In a country that has more guns than people, that seems like a rather remote possibility. I got one article sent to me stating that knives kill more people than rifles. Statistically it is true, knives or cutting instruments kill more than rifles, but firearms in general kill seven times more people than knives. 
Besides, when did you last hear of a mass knifing?
Let me be clear, I’m not anti-guns.  I grew up in a house with guns, I own several guns, and my daughter took shooting sports in 4-H.  
Whatever the suggested action for change, others refute the solution. Criminals will always get guns, we can’t fortify every building, we have to change people’s hearts, background checks and waiting periods take too long.   
I know one thing for sure, no one suggestion will be a solution to gun violence or even mass shootings. But I find it so frustrating that we are afraid to try anything. In Texas, the governor of the state, dismissed any type of gun control when discussing the disaster in Uvalde but instead emphasized it as a mental health problem.  
In 1957, Republican Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower sent federal troops into Little Rock, Ark. to enforce a court order for integration of the school. President Eisenhower was not in favor of forced integration, but he felt compelled to follow the law. 
This did not end segregation, nor did it do away with discrimination. The struggle for civil rights continued well into the next decade and continues today. But he knew “something” had to be done to stop something that was inherently wrong. 
Mass shootings are wrong. Something needs to be done. Do I have the answer, obviously not? But to dismiss all calls for change without offering up some type of action seems unconscionable. I hope we don’t have to be personally affected by a shooting in a local school, day care, or store for us to say, “something needs to be done.”