I didn’t think I had the mental energy to delve into the Florida shooting, but here we are. I have seen far too many ridiculous, ignorant, uneducated and downright nonsensical arguments and opinions. Too many people are saying that this is not about guns. I am here to say that this is about guns.
Tomi Lahren screeching that the shooting had nothing to do with guns doesn’t mean anything when the actual survivors have come forward saying that it is in fact about guns. There is no logical argument as to why a 19-year-old should have access to an AR-15.
Don’t come for me saying that it’s our Second Amendment right because 1) the Second Amendment was written when the most advanced firearm was a musket and 2) a child’s right to live through a day at school will always outweigh your right to own a gun.
I don’t want to waste my time explaining why this isn’t a mental health issue. I already have an article on that topic. I wrote it after another mass shooting. In this particular case, the Florida shooter apparently was mentally ill. He reportedly suffered from depression. But depression doesn’t make someone walk into a school with an assault rifle and murder 17 people. Google the symptoms of depression, and that won’t be there. His mental health had nothing to do with it.
There are reports that the shooter was bullied. But being bullied doesn’t make someone want to shoot up a school. I was bullied, mercilessly might I add, from first to eighth grade. Have I ever felt the need to purchase an AR-15 and take it to school? Never.
The shooter did this because he was an evil man who wanted to commit an evil act. His mental health and troubled past don't mean a thing.
What people don’t seem to understand about gun control is ... well everything. Gun control doesn’t mean a government agent is going to walk into your home and take your precious gun that you use maybe once every few months. Gun control will make it more difficult for 19-year-olds to purchase AR-15s, a gun that's been used in many of the publicized mass shootings of the past few years.
In 1996, Australia had a mass shooting and proceeded to pass stricter gun laws. They have not had a single mass shooting since.
The US has been relying on “thoughts and prayers” to stop mass shootings. I think it’s safe to say that it’s not working.
So what can we do? We start by voting out every single politician in the pocket of the NRA. Vote them out. They have no place in democracy.
I have so many thoughts and too much anger to properly translate onto paper. All I am asking is that you acknowledge this for what it is, and don’t let those 17 deaths be in vain. We can stop this if we so choose.