Dear Mr. President,
I do not claim to be unique. I do not claim to be any
different than the 314 million other residents of the United States. I know my thoughts
and opinions are not one-of-a-kind, and that countless others share them. The
statements expressed in this article have been and will be repeated for
generations and generations to come.
Today 20 school children, many under the age of 7, were
gunned down in their class room. A
school, meant to foster growth, to promote education, and to shape young minds was
violated in the most heinous of ways.
As I listen to the new coverage a recurring theme occurs:
“What we can take away from this?”
“How does this
resemble the attack in," Another year...
“The gunman was," Another age. Another Name...
“We are reminded of the shooting in,” Another City. Another
State…
When does it become too much? How many more lives, innocent
lives, lives just beginning, have to be taken before we do something?
Millions of people share this opinion yet we live in a
country where a person diagnosed as a threat to themselves and to others has access
to weapons capable of taking lives. Weapons capable of firing 100 rounds per second. Weapons that go above and
beyond “self-defense” and a “constitutional right.” A, “God-given right,” some
would argue.
But God had no part in this.
I’m not interested into getting into a political pissing match on gun control. That
is not my intention. What I care about are the lives of 20 children. Jesus Christ, 20 CHILDREN in body-bags
and the 6 adults who died, undoubtedly, trying to save them.
My heart aches for the families of these children in
Newtown, Connecticut. My heart aches for their families and the families of
those lost in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Aurora, Colorado, Tucson, Arizona,
Blacksburg, Virginia, Littleton, Colorado,
Springfield, Oregon and countless other cities in this Country, the “Greatest Nation
in the world,” where lives were extinguished in the blink of an eye, and where scars
exist still today.
I am sick. Exhausted. Another National Tragedy has shaken us to the core and brought our leaders to tears. Our hearts are broken. Again. Now what? It has been said that in the wake of these events, "Now is not the time to talk about gun control," well when in the hell IS the time?
The system has
failed. The system continues to fail. In one sense or another, we are doing something wrong.
And it’s time to
change that.
- Kimberly M. Totleben
Erie, PA 16506
I love you Kim.
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