Enough

I want to apologize for my negative tone in my previous post.  The truth is, that outfit had nothing to do with my mood.  I've had a hard time mentally recovering from the latest school shooting in our country.  Every one of these attacks are a tragedy, but this one has stayed in my, and undoubtedly others', minds constantly.  There's posts and YouTube videos being reposted on everyone's Facebook, a cacophony of opinions just like with every past national tragedy.  On most of those events, I purposefully stayed silent and refused to add to the riot of online opinion-sharing and political back and forths that ensue.

And on this occasion, I don't necessarily have a new opinion to share.  My words will probably be the same ones that the countless other mothers, fathers, teachers, friends and bloggers have already said and shared.

And that's the point.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of voices screaming to anyone that will listen that enough is enough.

We have had enough of the murders.  We have had enough of watching a direct correlation between the ban on assault weapons expiring and mass shootings.  We have had enough of watching a heightened police presence at our schools for days after shootings to show future shooters that school is not an easy target.  We have had enough lists of "These are the names and faces of those who lost their lives this time."  

The right to buy a weapon easily and conveniently does not trump a mother's right to get her child safely home after school.

The right to purchase a weapon meant for military-grade killing without first proving mental health does not trump a teacher's safety in the classroom.

The right to skip a waiting period to bring home a gun that can shoot insane amounts of bullets in a more insanely short period of time does not trump a child's life.

I am so tired of it.  I am so very familiar with the "groaning" detailed in Romans 8:22, where creation groans under the weight of how things are versus how they should be.  We will never live in a utopia on earth, true, but it's so angering to see the changes that need to come about to bring just a small bit more peace to this mortal coil. It's exhausting to keep believing the best in people while experiencing their worst.  It's worse to see changes in other developed countries that have all but eradicated mass shootings, while we inexplicably refuse to adopt them in our own.

And I'm not saying we should ban guns!  I just don't understand why there aren't more restrictions on certain ones.  Of course people kill people, but why would we make access to a tool meant for killing that much easier?  Having a weapon in your home for hunting or self defense, or teaching your children how to use and respect a gun when they are of age, are all parts of responsible ownership.  But, if you have to get a license for driving a car, a one ton piece of metal that can cause bodily harm to yourself and others without proper training, that's an inconvenience that's expected.  Why would it be different across the board in our country for gun ownership?  In that same vein, just because I have a driver's license doesn't mean I can jump into an 18-wheeler and take off down the road.  Driving a larger vehicle requires a different class of licensing, because without proper vetting and training, that truck can cause that much more damage.  Why isn't it the same with military-grade weapons?

I am not content to live in a country where our headlines for hero's have changed from "heroic man saves local kid from drowning" to "heroic teacher loses life by absorbing bullets meant for children."  In the words of me and thousands of others, enough is enough.