“Republicans will decry the carnage. Then, their leaders will call for a moment of silence, and perhaps offer a prayer.” — The author

I shed private tears as my wife and I drove from Chicago, Illinois, on a ribbon of pavement between barren fields, to Ames, Iowa. It was the afternoon of May 24, 2022, and a radio reporter had just summarized the news from Uvalde, Texas. An eighteen-year-old high school student, Salvador Ramos, had gunned down 14 children and one teacher at Robb Elementary School.

Minutes later, my wife and I reunited with our son, a student at Iowa State University in Ames. I remember happy days, not long ago, when he was an innocent second, third, or fourth grade student, just like those at Robb Elementary. In those days, he marveled at the world and rejoiced with his friends and baseball teammates. He often declared, “I’m going to be a scientist of everything.”

In the morning following the initial report, the death toll in Uvalde had risen to 19 students and two adults. Try to imagine how the parents whose children died suffer the loss of their tender loved ones. A parent can experience no harsher terror. Try to imagine how the spouses, parents, siblings, and friends of the deceased adults are grieving.

The survivors will never hug, kiss, see, rejoice with, laugh with, or talk with their loved ones or friends again. Imagine how their memories of joy intermingle with the pain, suffering, and mourning that follow tragic and early deaths. Imagine the tears, wailing, and lost will to live today in Uvalde and beyond.

Little or nothing will change.

Democrats have started to publicly decry the carnage. U.S. President Joe Biden asked, “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” and “Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?”

Just ten days before the shootings at Robb Elementary School, a hate-filled 18-year-old gunman massacred ten people in a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

In the wake of the mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, Democrats will call for new gun controls. But with a small majority in the United States Congress, their proposed measures will fail to become law.

Republicans will decry the carnage. Then, their leaders will call for a moment of silence, and perhaps offer a prayer.

Several months ago, a friend posted a meme on Facebook about guns. Alongside an image of a handgun, she said something like, “Guns don’t pull triggers, people do.” Her statement is true. Yet, why does America allow almost anyone to buy or possess guns even after so many murders? Mass killings would not occur if people who should not have guns were armed with bows and arrows, knives, axes, or hammers. Guns are easy to obtain, and they are convenient and simple killing machines.

In a statement after the Uvalde massacre, Texas Governor Greg Abbott mentioned the “horrific loss.” Yes, the loss was horrific. But he and Texas legislators passed a law in 2021 that allows most Texans to carry firearms in public without a permit or training.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the gun lobby that President Biden asked us to stand up to in his remarks on May 24, 2022. It will hold its annual meeting in Houston, Texas, from May 27 through 29. According to reports, Texas Governor Abbott, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, U.S. Senator John Cornyn from Texas, and former U.S. President Donald Trump will attend.

Will the NRA propose changes in gun controls to protect lives? No, but they might observe a moment of silence or offer a prayer.

The NRA might also mention the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution at its meeting. It reads, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It is a poorly-written, and potentially ambiguous, sentence by modern standards. Did our Founding Fathers intend for anyone and everyone, no matter their backgrounds, to possess firearms, without training or regulations?

“When they read the news, some Americans and outsiders must believe that many Americans love their guns more than they love their children.” — The author

I am ashamed of my country and its record of deaths by gunmen. And yes, the vast majority of killers are men.

When they read the news, some Americans and outsiders must believe that many Americans love their guns more than they love their children. Like cancer and heart disease, which usually afflict other people, gun owners probably don’t believe such a tragedy could befall their own family.

Here are simple proposals for a safer America:

• Require a thorough background check before every attempted gun purchase, whether through a gun store, gun show, or between private parties. Do not allow a sale to anyone who has been convicted of a violent crime or who has a documented mental illness.
• Do not deliver a gun to the purchaser until 30 days after the sale.
• Do not allow gun sales to anyone under the age of 21.
• Ban the sale of all assault rifles.
• Ban the sale of ammunition magazines with a capacity of over ten rounds.
• Ban the sale of devices that effectively convert a semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons.
• Seize guns from anyone convicted of a violent crime.

“Sadly, even after all the carnage, little or nothing will change.” — The author

According to WebMD, gun violence has become the number one killer of youth in the United States. In 2020, 4,357 children died of gun-related injuries.

Sadly, even after all the carnage, little or nothing will change.