protect kids, not guns

 Here are the facts:

Firearm-related injuries 

are the leading cause of death among

children and adolescents in this country.

~https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2201761~

~https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/29/health/us-children-gun-deaths-dg/index.html~

This is a public health crisis. A societal and cultural tragedy. A monumental failure to protect the health and well-being of our children.

Those of us who are in healthcare can justifiably celebrate the gains we have made over the years in the successful treatment of other killers...childhood cancer, congenital heart disease, infectious diseases, and diabetes, among others. For this, we can thank the well-funded research programs and the men and women who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of elusive cures. 

When it comes to gun violence, though, it seems all we have to offer are thoughts and prayers which, so far, haven't worked very well. And never will. The same can be said for marching in the streets to protest the failure of elected officials to act on behalf of the innocent victims of gun violence, and it holds true for those of us who write to our representatives and senators for help. It hasn't worked. It never will.

"It takes a monster to kill children.

But to watch monsters

kill children again and again and do nothing

isn't just insanity--it's inhumanity."

~Amanda Gorman~

Interestingly, right-leaning politicians and their supporters who understand and defend the right to life of the unborn apparently do not apply the same standard to toddlers, preschoolers, or school age children. They don't seem to understand the connection between easy, and often illegal, access to firearms and the loss of young lives. Instead of citing the role of firearms in these deaths, they assign blame elsewhere. They place responsibility on a failed mental health system, or with lawless immigrants. And they can't be convinced otherwise.

Which leaves us in a bind. Those of us who recognize the horror and the urgency of this crisis feel an aching imperative to act. A sacred duty to act. But...what can we do? Our leaders have nothing to suggest. Our priests and pastors have nothing to add. We are left with little more than wishful thinking.

"Maybe this is crazy,

but I think the right to own a gun 

is trumped but the right not to be

shot by one."

~Andy Borowitz~

Death by gunshot is an agonizing process. Imagine it. Go ahead. Try. Imagine the bullet tearing through your flesh, into your lung, or your gut, or your brain. Bleeding out. Suffocating for lack of oxygen. Now take a moment to imagine your child or grandchild suffering like that. No...no, you can't. It is unthinkable. Unbearable. Impossible. 

Unless you are able to somehow acquiesce to the loss of your own child's life by gunshot, you must take a stand against it no matter which side of the political spectrum you favor. You must speak out. You must act to pass strict gun control laws. To disempower the NRA. To prioritize mental health services. You must put your own guns down. To ignore or deny or vindicate this problem is to invite disaster into your own life and the lives of those you love.

"Protect kids, not guns."

~attribution unknown~

jan