If you give a man a gun ...

He'll ask you for the bullets ...

And that you teach him how to shoot it.

And if you give a man a gun, you'll have to give them to the men in blue.

For these are who will protect you if you do ... give a man a gun.

If you give a man a gun ... you'll have to give a gun to everyone.

For we are a nation based on equality.

And if you give the world equality, you give the world equal opportunity.

The right to freely speak, to bear arms.

And if you give a man the right to bear arms ... if you give a man a gun, make sure you give it to him for the right reasons.

For if you give a man a gun, he'll ask to use it and to shoot it.

But he won't really ask.

For if you give a man a gun, he alone controls its use and its abuse.

But you see, it's not the gun. For if you give a man a gun, it sits idle unless called to action by man.

And if you give men guns, ensure you give it to the right ones.

The ones willing to protect and serve, who stand and protect the very ones who stand against them.

For it's not simply #BlackLivesMatter, but they do.

It's not #BlueLivesMatter, but they do.

It is #AllLivesMatter.

For if you give a man a gun, make sure he knows that black lives matter.

That he knows white lives matter.

Purple lives, red lives, blue lives matter, all lives matter.

If you give a man a gun, make sure he knows the value of the lives he could so easily take.

So that if you give a man a gun, innocent lives like the five in blue are not lost.

That innocent lives of civilians of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds are not lost.

And if you give a man a gun ensure there is no ill will, there is no prejudice, and no want to harm the innocent.

In lieu of recent events in the news, I whole-heartedly believe this controversial topic needs to be addressed. As a nation, we have found ourselves being pitted against each other; we are no longer the United States of America united against all others. In fact, I believe the rest of the world watches as we create our own demise.

We are finding ourselves in a war between groups of people all of which are inhabitants of this great country. We must remember that every single life is valuable, and nobody has the right to determine whose is more valuable than another. In recent events, we have seen unjust attacks brought upon the African American community, but also unjust attacks brought upon the brave men in blue. Neither is less important than the other. Neither deserves less attention than the other. The families of victims in both groups mourn over the loss of a loved one, of a person whose life was taken too soon.

And we too should mourn over the loss of our community members; not because he was part of #BlackLivesMatter or part of #BlueLivesMatter, but because he was an American. All lives, all of our citizens lives (whether he be blue, black, yellow, rainbow) matter. There is good and bad to be found in every race, religion, ethnicity, and occupation. And because not you, I, nor anyone else has the power to decide whose is more important or valuable, we must stop acting as if we do.

For if you give a man a gun, you give a man a gun.

And there is nothing more final than that.