If you would've asked me on June 10, I would've said I was pro-second amendment. I would've told you that I was all for gun regulations, but that I was a firm believer in citizens being able to arm themselves. Now I'm not so sure.
I see the logic behind the conservative crusade for gun rights - I mean, if the good guys aren't armed and ready, who will be there to stop the bad guys? But at the same time, how can you watch the events of this past weekend and not begin to question?
It all began with the fatal shooting of Christina Grimmie. This was a young woman whose heart was on fire for her art, in love with the Lord, and so filled with joy. Even before she was known for her stint on The Voice, she was a role model for so many through her "zeldaxlove64" YouTube account. Though I never had the privilege of meeting her, it's obvious to anyone who encountered her videos that she was something special. Both her vocals and heart were sweet and pure, and seeing that spirit so full of life being dashed far too soon is heartbreaking.
Just 24 hours later in the same city of Orlando, the US faced the deadliest terror attack since 9/11. Fifty lives were brutally taken by a man under the banner of ISIS, simply out of prejudice against their sexuality. There was no prompting of the attack nor was it committed by someone from a distant land and far removed from the American system. Rather, it was open gunfire coming from the hands of a born and raised United States citizen. As for what we know, there were no crazy conspiracies behind it - just one man, his weaponry, and his will to kill.
These murders are neither simple nor easy to ignore. They are bloody, painful, and ripping away innocents lives each day. This world has been stripped of over 50 beautiful souls due to the events of one weekend, all of them being linked back to gun violence.
Yes, guns don't fire themselves. It is indeed the mind behind the weapon that leads to killing, but doesn't removal of the weapon solve at least half of the problem? Wouldn't added gun legislation be worth it to the families of these victims, or to the city that's been left torn the pieces in grief?
I may have been pro-gun conservative just a few days ago, but I can't look at the world the same after the events of June 11 and 12. Christina Grimmie's light deserved to shine longer. The lives of the 50 killed in the club were meant to go on and change this world somehow, but in a way that we'll now never have the chance to know.
This world is cruel. People become twisted and lose their humanity far too often. In an ideal world, guns wouldn't be necessary or at least could be owned without worry. But here and now, I don't think I can stand with where our country is. It took me a while to come around to the idea of added gun restrictions, and I'm still not sure exactly where I stand on it in terms of extremities. That will come with time. But what I do know is that I'm not okay with the idea of people parading around in pride of their power to take away life. Rather, it is much more powerful to find one's strength in the way they give life, hope, and love to the world.
Christina is a perfect example of someone who found their strength in that love, as I'm sure many of the other victims were, as well.
To Christina Grimmie and the victims of the June 12th nightclub shooting: I pray that your legacies give meaning, inspiration, and hope to the lives of those around you, and that the Lord gives comfort to the friends and families who need it most. Rest in peace.
He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
Isaiah 25:8, ESV
