Dear Board Members of the National Rifle Association,
I am tired. I am very, very tired. I am tired of you using your money to control politicians. I'm tired of you insulting children. I'm tired of you fostering the idea of a civil war.
Not only am I tired, I am baffled. Gun homicides are increasing. You do not care. The United States has the most mass shootings in the world. You do not care. 21,000 people in 2014 committed suicide using a gun. You do not care.
This is an indisputable fact: assault rifles were created to murder. They serve no other purpose. They kill and they maim and they destroy.
I cannot fathom why you support an ordinary civilian owning one of these. I cannot fathom the complete and utter disregard for human lives you have. Your right to a hobby does not outweigh someone's right to life. You value your money and power more than you value people's lives. Children's lives.
You all disgust me.
I will be honest, I have fired a gun before. I was visiting a boy scout camp for a weekend and there was an open range. Under the surveillance and supervision of three trained professionals, I shot a few clay pigeons with a shotgun. I shot and hit all three. It was, admittedly, really fun.
Here's the difference between my experience and your "Shuan vs. The Evil Dead" fantasy: I had three pairs of eyes watching me like a hawk making sure I was holding the shotgun correctly, firing it correctly, and for the love of God, aiming in the range. My experience with a gun was safe.
You advocate that people need to arm themselves. No experience, training, or precautions needed. You take away restrictions for people's own safety because hey, a gun sale is a gun sale. Is your money green, you ask? Good. That's all you care about.
You say that guns are the best way to protect yourself. Reality check: they're not. But you've never exactly cared for facts in your fear mongering and manipulations, have you?
It's almost as if your only agenda is to sell guns.
On average, 1,300 children are murdered a year through gun violence. Babies. They were barely on this earth for a decade before their lives were ripped from them. They never got a chance to experience high school. They never got a chance to pursue a degree. Start a family. Chase their dreams. They never got the chance to live. If you cared, you'd advocate for protecting children. But you don't.
On average, 20,000 people a year commit suicide with a gun. Thousands of people who cannot see any hope in life anymore, so they resort to ending it. It's the worst tragedy a human can endure. They never got to recover. They never got a chance to feel okay again. If you cared about these people with mental illnesses, you would advocate for mental health support. But you don't.
I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about people. I don't know how to explain to you that you should have empathy. I don't know how to explain that you are fostering a culture that murders people. You do not care about your fellow human beings' lives, and your apathy is despicable.
I am not the only one who views you with discontempt. People are getting tired. People are getting angry. Your apathy is no longer acceptable.
Your days are numbered. You have an expiration date, and that day is rapidly approaching.
So enjoy your power while you still can.
Love,
Milo
