Inaction is unacceptable

A few weeks ago, this country marked the 6th month anniversary of the heartbreaking shooting that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

I will never forget how I felt on December 14, 2012 when I heard the devastating news. I was absolutely sickened when I turned on the TV and saw that there was a shooting at an elementary school. As a 22-year-old woman, the idea of a madman coming after me with an assault rifle is beyond terrifying. I cannot imagine how 6 and 7-year-olds felt when this happened at their school. 

I could only watch the news coverage for a few minutes. After that, I couldn't take it anymore. I was so upset, and I had to get out of my apartment to just walk and think. 

As I walked, I thought about those young children who had been killed, and I fought back tears as I did. Instead of opening up Christmas presents in less than two weeks, those children would be lying in the ground, unable to live out the rest of their lives. Instead of watching with joy as their children talked about how excited they were for Santa to arrive, Sandy Hook parents would have to look at their children's tombstones with despair. 

It was heart-wrenching, and it was also unacceptable. I wondered to myself how on earth we as a country could let something as devastating as this happen. And we really did LET it happen. That's not just an expression. We let it happen because we continued to accept the status quo when it came to our gun laws, our mental health services, and our culture of violence. Despite numerous shooting tragedies and 30,000 annual gun deaths, the United States Congress continues to sit on its hands and not do anything to strengthen our gun laws. 

I've never owned a gun, I never will own one, and I've never even seen one in person. But despite the fact that I don't understand some people's obsession with guns, I've come to understand in the last few months that some people just view guns in a very different manner than my family and I do. And that's okay. We're a non-homogenous country, and part of what makes us great is the fact that Americans come from a variety of different backgrounds, have a variety of beliefs, and practice a variety of lifestyles. If I expect people to respect me for not wanting to bear arms, then I should respect those who choose to own guns. 

But with the right to bear arms comes responsibility. I've heard a lot of gun owners on TV talk about their right to own weapons, but I very rarely hear them talk about the responsibilities that come with having that right. This shouldn't be the case. Guns can be useful, whether they are used to hunt, to shoot recreationally, or to protect oneself from an intruder/attacker. But they can also cause severe damage and destruction, and oftentimes they can cause death. 

Gun owners need to take responsibility to ensure that children, those with severe mental illnesses and criminals do not get their hands on a gun. They need to lock their guns up in their household so that those who aren't knowledgeable in how to work a gun cannot get their hands on one.  

I've heard some people argue that asking people to lock up their guns or requiring them to go through background checks is wrong because this automatically assumes that they are guilty ("guilty until proven innocent"). But I would be quick to remind them that this assumption is very normal and it is necessary in our society. 

When people want to get a driver's license, they must complete a driver's education course, take a road and written test, and renew their license every five years. This is because we want to make sure that the people who are getting behind the wheel of a car are safe and well-trained for the very important responsibility that is driving a motor vehicle. The same is true for owning a gun. Owning a gun is a right that we have as Americans, but that right can and should be taken away from people who would use that gun to inflict harm on innocent civilians. 

Another argument I've heard from people is that gun control is not going to stop every tragedy and that criminals and people with severe mental illnesses will find a way to get their hands on a gun and commit heinous crimes. And that's true. No law or action can prevent every senseless act of violence. But new laws definitely could prevent some tragedies. And shouldn't some be enough? If we can enact laws that would save just a few people, then wouldn't it be worth it to test those laws out? Don't we as Americans and human beings have an obligation to try? I certainly think so.

If laws are found to be ineffective then we can get rid of them and try new laws. But we always have to try. We can't just do nothing; not when 30,000 people are murdered each year with guns and not when 20 innocent schoolchildren are murdered in a place that they should feel absolutely safe in. 

Although I do choose to live my life to the fullest everyday and not solely think about something as tragic and scary as gun violence, I cannot ignore it altogether. None of us can. Because any one of us could have been in the shoes of the 26 Newtown families who lost a son, daughter, wife, mother, brother or sister. And any one of us could be impacted by gun violence at some point in our lives. I'm not saying this to make us all paranoid; I'm saying it because I want to remind people that we are all interconnected and that no one is immune from tragedy. We owe it not just to the Newtown families but to ourselves and our loved ones to speak out and let our lawmakers know that inaction will absolutely not be tolerated. 

So speak out and let your voice be heard, because as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."