It's been more than a week after the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. I’m sure you’ve read hundreds of tweets from politicians, celebrities, and friends that sound something like “Sending thoughts and prayers to those affected by this horrible tragedy."
You likely know that the shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, was a 26-year old male and a former U.S. Air Force airman. In an effort to determine his motives for the shooting, details came to light about how he spent a year in prison after assaulting his wife and child.
This man killed 26 people with a rifle, which he was allowed to purchase.
Despite having a criminal past, he owned a gun.
And in that sentence, right there, in plain sight, lies the argument at the heart of the gun control debate.
Like me, after hearing about this tragedy, your thoughts immediately turned to sadness for the victims. You then became angry that so many mass shootings like this one have happened in the past year.
You saw everyone’s comments on Twitter, you read news articles about it.
But my question is: what have you done since then? It has been 10 days since the shooting, and what have you done to help prevent the next one?
If you are someone who has taken action, thank you. Yet. I am guessing that the majority of you have taken no action.
I am not blaming you, or calling you out individually, because truthfully, for every other shooting prior to this one, I have been sad and angered, but have not done anything.
The reason why I haven’t taken action is that I wasn’t sure what action I could take.
I’m sure this is how many of you feel.
When we hear that no major pieces of legislation are being passed in Congress that will establish stricter gun control regulations, we think “Well, what is there for us to do?”
Those with all the power to make laws in this country aren’t doing anything, and I’m just one citizen, I don’t have the power to make laws. We tend to see this as an issue that is way above our heads, and we feel we have no power to effect change.
All those thoughts are why I am here, writing this article. I don't want to feel helpless anymore, and neither should you.
The day after hearing about the shooting, I looked up who my state and federal legislators are.
As a registered voter, I am ashamed to admit I did not know who these people were. But then again, how often do we hear about the state legislature?
During elections, we are aware of the candidates because it is all over the news. After several months have passed, however, unless major events are happening in the legislature, we don’t hear much about the day-to-day.
For this reason, I forgive myself for not knowing who represented me and promise myself to always know in the future.
After looking up these legislators, I looked up their platforms, and specifically where they stood on gun control. If you’re not familiar with the current federal legislation (which I was not until last week), I’ll provide a quick primer on it.
Currently, to purchase a firearm from a licensed seller, a background check is required. When purchased through a private seller, however, a background check may be skipped. This allows people such as Devin Kelley to get their hands on a firearm.
To ensure that firearms do not end up in the wrong hands, and to take a step in the right direction to stop mass shootings, Congress needs to pass a law requiring universal background checks. Several states have passed stricter laws themselves, but what the U.S. needs is a federal law that covers all states.
Fortunately, I found that the state of Massachusetts is one of the strictest when it comes to gun control legislation. All but one of my state and federal legislators supports universal background checks. I was pleased to discover this and would suggest you go through the same process to find out who is representing you and what they stand for.
Now comes the question of what can I actually do?
When it comes to gun control, money is often one of the biggest players. The gun lobbyists provide ridiculous amounts of money to politicians, which essentially puts them in their pocket.
As I am just out of college, providing money to my legislators truly isn’t an option. However, I can still let them know where I stand as a voter.
For those that already support universal background checks, sending them a letter or calling them will affirm that they stand with their constituents.
For those that oppose stricter gun control legislation, reaching out to them is all the more important, because they need to know how their voter base feels.
Even better, if there is an election coming up, plan to vote for someone else who aligns with your beliefs.
It has been 10 days, and I've thought a lot about the actions I can (and plan to) take to prevent more mass shootings.
I simply cannot stand by any longer while these horrific events occur.
It may be a slow and sometimes seemingly-futile process, but I won't let that deter me. I've let this most recent shooting be a wake-up call for me. I'm hoping it will also be the wake-up call this country needs.
