from Gabino Zavala, Justice & Peace Director
“Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, marked by lamentation and bitter weeping: Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be consoled for her children, because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15
Tuesday afternoon I took a break from writing a reflection on the shooting of Black grocery shoppers in Buffalo by an avowed white supremacist, to watch the news with my mother. As the news unfolded I started to weep. Again. The images of the children and their teachers senselessly murdered made me weep. The smiling images of those children who are no more. Just days before we saw the images of those who went grocery shopping for their families and never came home. Our hearts break for their parents and their families.
There have been 213 mass shootings in the United States this year, 27 of these shootings have occurred in schools. The funerals from the Buffalo shooting have not ended as another mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas takes place. Children should be able to go to school without fearing for their lives. People should be able to go shopping to feed their families without being attacked by someone filled with hatred. Everyone should be able to go to Church without fearing for their lives.
In response to the shooting of those innocent children in Texas Governor Abbott and other Texas politicians blamed a lack of security at the schools. Their solution—more guns. Let’s arm the teachers. Let’s hire more armed security. Let’s not talk about sensible gun laws.
As Precious Blood missionaries, members and companions, we have taken a corporate stance against gun violence. In our corporate stance, We affirm the sacredness of all life. We acknowledge the need to change laws that allow unlimited access to weapons and ammunition of any amount.
We are not talking about taking away the guns of hunters and responsible gun enthusiasts. We are talking about comprehensive gun policy reform. We need stronger universal background checks. We need to address the question of gun ownership and mental illness. We should be more aware of those who espouse racist and hateful ideologies and want to purchase guns. We need to ban assault rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines. We need to dismantle our extreme gun culture.
Why should someone who just turned 18 years old be able to legally buy an assault rifle? Why should no red flags be raised when a young man who is not in law enforcement or in the military has access to body armor? Should this not be of concern to all of us?
There are more than 400,000,000 guns in the United States, We have more guns than people. And yet many politicians tout the rights of the individual to own guns (of any kind) rather than the safety of our children and our communities. Governor Abbott for one has just passed laws making it easier for people to own guns. This is their solution for every problem. But guns everywhere haven’t made us safer; quite the contrary.
Contact your U.S. Representatives and Senators. Tell them that it is time to pass sensible gun laws. Tell them to stop taking money from the gun lobby. Hold them accountable.
You hear people say, “Guns don’t kill, people do!” That’s only half the story. People who are filled with hate, mentally ill, who have evil in their hearts, AND who have easy access to assault rifles and high-capacity magazines kill people.
How much longer will we weep for our children?