This page looked a lot different yesterday. To all those who were mentioned, please know that I love you and appreciate your support in my personal, teaching, and writing lives.
Yesterday, a gunman in Dayton, Ohio, killed nine of his fellow Americans using what law enforcement has described as an ‘assault-style weapon’ along with a high-capacity magazine capable of holding one hundred rounds. As I write this, his motive is unknown. What is known is that the carnage would have been much worse were it not for the quick and brave response of Dayton police.
Hours earlier yesterday, a gunman in El Paso, Texas, shot and killed twenty-two people – fourteen of whom were his fellow Americans – with an AK-47 assault-style rifle. Law enforcement agents, both local and federal, are calling this an act of ‘domestic terrorism’ based on a manifesto the shooter posted online regarding immigrants and praising the White Supremacist from Christchurch, New Zealand, who killed fifty-one worshippers at mosques earlier this year. Again, more carnage was avoided due to the courage and professionalism of El Paso’s police.
It is my profound hope that my country’s politicians – my fellow Americans – can agree upon more sensible gun laws to protect our citizens. Today I walked into a sporting goods store and was told I could walk out with a rifle – possibly assault-style – after passing a five-minute ‘background check.’ No one needs a gun that quickly.
It is also my hope that my fellows citizens of Earth can begin to see past the hateful rhetoric of a small few – some in great positions of power – and realize that we’re all in this together no matter what our color, country of origin, gender identity, or religion.
So today, the day after one of the worst days of gun violence in American history, I choose to acknowledge the brave men and women of law enforcement, those who preach love instead of hate, and those who are unafraid to call out hateful and violent rhetoric, especially when it may be uncomfortable to do so.