Jean Abercrombie
St. Joseph
On an episode of the PBS mystery series INSPECTOR LEWIS, a shooting occurred during a parade at Oxford University in England. As the participants and onlookers scrambled for safety, one of the Brits said, “How can this happen; we’re not America!”
This weekend 13 mass shootings were committed in the United States of America. Again.
These horrors occur so often now in our own country that they are barely news anymore.
That we barely notice them is an atrocity in itself.
Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States. Very young children attending school for the first time must be subjected to frightening “lock down” drills in classrooms. While taking my then 4-year old granddaughter to her school one morning, she called me back to ask me in a quiet little voice, “Do you think anything bad will happen today?” The joy of school and learning should not be replaced by fears and nightmares.
June 4-6 is Wear Orange Weekend to honor victims of gun violence and to demonstrate support for common-sense gun policies.
We are not an anti-gun movement. We display orange in the community and wear orange because it is the color hunters wear to protect themselves from gun accidents.
As I watched elected officials hiding under their desks and trying to barricade the Capitol doors on January 6 of this year, I remember thinking, “I hope these lawmakers remember this feeling and think of the school children next time they consider sensible gun legislation.
Thank you to our businesses and schools and many volunteers who will be working to help bring awareness to our community. And to you. Show your support June 4-6.