I Grieve. I Vote.

This is not new. It is hardly news. Since Charles Whitman climbed the Texas Tower in 1966 and killed 18 people we have had mass shootings at schools. In fact, there have been school shootings as far back as 1840. It is not new that conservatives claim rights defined in the 2nd Amendment as the basis of opposing gun control legislation. It is not new that flag-waving right-wingers warn against any attempt to restrict the purchase of weapons or identify red flags that might prohibit individuals identified as disturbed from obtaining firearms. The discourse between those horrified by the ease of weapon possession in this country and those who somehow think it is a sacred right has boiled down to logic vs. belief, individual freedom vs. community well-being, gun manufacturers, vs. grieving family and community members. It is not different from the vaccinated vs. the anti-vaxers. In this nation will we allow individuals to exhibit behaviors that are harmful, nay terminal, to the group? So far, the answer is “yes.” And our children are dying. Adults are dying. And we remain content with a misread rule from 1791 designed by Madison to arm citizens if needed, against a tyrannical government. So sad that the attempts at tyranny have come from pro-guns groups.

This is not new. But one wonders when it will be enough.

Can we tell the good guys from the bad guys? No. So the notion that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun is as nonsensical as saying the only way to stop someone with a gun is by someone else with a gun so give everyone a gun.

If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Exactly. If heroin is outlawed only addicts and drug dealers will have heroin.

And here in Texas, we are going in the opposite direction. No license is needed to own or carry. Therefore, no surprise children are dying. If you are a gun-carrying conservative you should celebrate the deaths in Uvalde as it is an indicator of your freedom to carry a weapon rather than the freedom of the rest of us to live.

I grieve. I vote.