Mass Shooting in Kansas City

Gun Violence Closer to (my) Home Than It's Ever Been...

You’ve probably heard. The Chiefs won the Super Bowl. Yay!

The celebration parade and rally happen to be on Valentine’s Day. Which happens to be a lovely, blue-skied, sunny, and warm day. And school in the region is canceled because it’s such a big event.
There are lots of kids. Kids running around, kids in strollers, kids on their parents’ shoulders. Lots of kids.

As the rally was ending, gunshots were fired. Mass panic.
22 people hit.
1 fatality.
9 of the victims were children.

Guns are the root of “gun violence.” A gun was invented, not to be a weapon to catch food with, but to kill an enemy. To kill, period.
I can’t think of guns as “peacekeepers.” Can you?

From the Kansas City Star, February 15th, 2024, Melinda Henneberger, on the Op-Ed page:

Mayor Quinton Lucas, who was at the parade with his wife and mother, and also had to run for cover, said, “We never would have thought … we’d be forced to run for our safety.”

Only, we do have to think about that these days, and that’s unacceptable.

Every time you’re in a crowd anywhere now, no matter how happy the occasion, isn’t part of you on high alert, scanning for signs of trouble? I am.

For the umpteenth time, no end of good guys with guns can be expected to head off yet another tragedy. No number of them would be enough to stop the carnage, yet we keep pretending otherwise. Every time something like this happens, we’re told that it’s too soon to talk about why this keeps happening.

Actually, it’s too late, but a serious, please-let’s-get-real about gun control conversation is more urgent now than ever.

Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/melinda-henneberger/article285488707.html#storylink=cp

If you own a gun, and use it, tell me what you do with it. You might be a “good guy,” but even Superman can’t be everywhere at once. So neither can you.
If you’re someone who votes Republican because they mostly support the NRA, tell me why?
You know the NRA exists to support gun manufacturers, right?
You could be a good guy owning a gun, in a state that allows you “open carry” and all it takes is one asshole with a gun to end your right to exist!

And give your family and friends the “right” to grieve.

I just want to get this out to you, I apologize for the editing issues, but not for my opinions.