Presidential candidate Jeb Bush responded to the shooting at Umpqua Community College by saying: “stuff happens.” Really, Mr. Bush? “Stuff happens”. Yes, “stuff happens”, but this is not just “stuff”, this is murder and it happens too often in too many places:
We shake our heads in disbelief and wonder why. Some of us share the “not one more life” messages and calls for sensible gun control. But we know there will be more deaths because after U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and six other people were killed, including a nine year old girl, that was not enough to get Congress to pass reasonable guns safety laws.
We know there will be more deaths because after the shooting in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater which killed twelve and injured seventy, that was not enough to get Congress to pass reasonable gun safety laws. We know there will be more deaths because after twenty children and six adults were killed in Newtown, Connecticut at the Sandy Hook Elementary School that was still not enough to get Congress to pass reasonable gun safety laws.
We know there will be more deaths because after two people were killed and nine people were injured at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, that was not enough to get Congress to pass reasonable gun safety laws. We know there will be more deaths because after nine people were killed during Bible study in a Church in Charleston, South Carolina, that was not enough to get Congress to pass reasonable gun safety laws.
We know there will be more deaths because we read not just about the drive-by shootings in the inner cities, but also because we read about children killing children because they found a loaded gun. We know there will be more deaths because we see the posts on Facebook about gun rights, guns not killing people and the need for more guns, not less, for protection.
We know there will be more deaths because too many people still do not understand that reasonable gun control is not going take guns away from all people or violate the 2nd amendment. Too many people have died. Too many people have mourned and continue to mourn those deaths.
The idea that “stuff happens” and these incidents are just “stuff’ is beyond absurd. That is not only a cold and harsh response to the loss of lives, but a slap in the face to all those still mourning, still grieving and still wondering how and why they must move forward without those they love. Isn’t it time we all stand together and not only say “enough is enough”, but do something!
Moderately liberal, liberally moderate, American flag waving Democrat! Bachelor of Arts in History with concentration in Early American History and Abraham Lincoln
Graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts Degree online in American History at Southern New Hampshire University