I'm angry. Really, really angry

By now, if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter and you're reading this now, congratulations, you're probably one of the few now willing to pay any attention to anything I post. (Hi Mom!) I've been posting quite a bit of stuff that you might consider "political," "controversial," and maybe even "wrong."  I posted that I think the NRA are murderers, and I stand by that.  I've signed some petitions to try to influence policy regarding gun laws and asked you to do so, too.  I am aware that this can get annoying.  When you're scrolling through Facebook you don't want to take the time to click off the page and, heaven forbid, type something like your email address and name onto a petition.  Or maybe you don't want to put your name on something you haven't researched well yourself.  Maybe you even intend to do that research...later.  (If this is your concern, it might help a tiny bit to know that I try to stick to very reputable sources: the New York Times, mostly, and the petitions are from Everytown.org and Moms Demand Action, very reputable organizations, but I understand if you can't just take my word for it) I've certainly felt that way about what others have posted.  So why post all this stuff if I think it's largely ineffectual?  For one, I feel I need an outlet for my anger.  I, selfishly, want to feel like I'm doing something, even if I know it's next to nothing.  For another, I'm tired of clucking my tongue and moaning.  I'm past that.  I think I've finally reached boiling point. After Columbine I was shocked.  After Virginia Tech I was sad.  After Aurora, Colorado I was scared.  After Sandy Hook I was deep in grief.  After Isla Vista I am so. very. angry.  

The number of gun deaths in America is....I don't even have an adjective for it.  Staggering?  Heartbreaking?  Unacceptable?  There are no words to express the crisis my country is experiencing.  I don't feel equipped to make arguments about the second amendment or gun violence statistics.  I started a post about that but abandoned it.  I'm no expert on constitutional law, or history, or statistics. If you're interested it's easy to find such arguments in reputable sources such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and nih.gov.  But chances are, if you're reading this, you already know and understand these arguments.  The question is when will we act? It is ridiculous that, in this country, founded on the noble principles of democracy and freedom, citizens should be dying in such vast numbers at the hands of other citizens.  Any why?  Because gun owners think guns are cool?  OK, if you get your jollies from shooting stuff, fine, good for you.  Do it in a gun club.  Go deer hunting, or boar hunting, or whatever it is that floats your boat.  But when your rights to own something cool infringes on the right of others to live we have a problem.  The fact is that most people want common-sense gun laws.  But the NRA is so powerful and so rich that their voice is heard above the voices of voting citizens.  Think about that.  An organization with lots of money has more influence than voters and people are dying because of it.  Doesn't that strike you as wrong?  

What's that?  The NRA is made up of voting citizens and represents you and your rights?  You think the NRA cares about your freedom?  Freedom at what cost?  The lives of innocents, of children?  That's not the kind of freedom I want.  You think the NRA cares about your safety?  Then why does it block studies, just studies, to better understand the influence of guns on public health and safety?  If they think the numbers are in their favor, that guns do in fact prevent more violence than they cause, why would they block such studies?    They know guns kill people.  They know guns are a risk to you and your family.  They also know that gun sales line their pockets, and that's what they care about.  That's what the NRA is all about. It's all about the Benjamins, baby. There's a word for this, for profiting from others' grief.  Evil.

Now I said I wouldn't get into the arguments about gun ownership, etc, so sorry, I couldn't help myself.  Did I mention I was angry?  Are you angry?  Are you angry enough to act?  To exercise your rights as a citizen of this nation and stand up against evil?  Or is that cat video on youtube a better use of your time?  Maybe you'll sign a petition, after you read about Kim Kardashian.  I'm guilty of it too.  After all, I can't spend all my time thinking about this.  I'd go crazy.  Maybe I'm already there.  But there are things we can do.  There are things we MUST do.  This must not happen again.  Not one more.