Breathe

Gun Violence in the U.S. has become so prevalent that the FBI maintains an Active Shooter Resource website. The shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX on May 25th came just 10 days after a shooting at Tops supermarket in Buffalo, NY. There have been 27 shootings with injuries and deaths in schools alone in 2022. Newscasters have been holding back tears as they are reporting the losses they have seen. People are in a fog as they are trying to put words to the emotions they are feeling.Good people are trying to make sense of what they should be doing.

How far do we want to debate the second amendment's right to bear arms? Enough of this nonsense. Hunters don't take an AR rifle out to hunt because they are so powerful that they wouldn't have anything to bring home after the shoot. Really. These rifles are sold for what reason? Consider why it has taken so long to identify the bodies of the 9 and 10-year-olds shot in Uvalde. This makes your heart throb with such deep sorrow. Do we want leaders to defend owning these weapons? I don't. I want compassionate leaders who understand the importance of life, the sanctity of the individual, and the need for justice and equality for all citizens. Of course, we have many needs in the US, but can we address the selling of these weapons as one of the first steps? Can we move on to the topic of spending as much money on those who economically live on the fringe of society as we do on the military-industrial complex? Can we look to expecting high values from all of our leaders? Aren't we at a tipping point yet?

With warm regards,

Marilyn Turkovich

This message from Marilyn Turkovich, Executive Director of the Charter for Compassion, appears in our 5/29/2022 weekly newsletter. To sign up for our newsletter, scroll all the way down to the end of this page to get to the bottom menu; in the newsletter section, enter your email address and click on subscribe.