Run, Hide Or Fight. Is That What Our Sweet America Has Come Down To?

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Our Nation Right Now:

As I shopped at our local hardware store this morning, I was vary of fellow shoppers around me. I was watchful of the cars that were coming and going as I crossed the street from my parked car. There’s something on my mind right now. It’s the ever present breaking news of mass shootings around us.

The desperate story about America right now is this. We’ve become a nation where we hope mom comes home from the mall or grocery store alive, our kids come home from school alive, dad comes home from work alive? Is that really who we want to be?

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Active Shooter, Beware:

A few days ago, in midtown Atlanta, there was an active shooter incident. A man had pulled a gun on several people in a doctor’s office and he was on the run. This is the message I got on a Whatsapp Group on how authorities want us to react if we’re caught in the crossfires.

Active Shooter Atlanta, GA
We are aware of an active shooter in: 1110 W Peachtree St. Atlanta, GA.
You are advised to:
Run: leave your belongings. Encourage others to leave the unsafe area.
If you are away from this location, stay away.
Hide: If you can’t escape, hide. Block entry with heavy furniture. Lock doors, silence your devices.
Act: If you believe your life is in imminent danger, use any means necessary to defend yourself. When in a safe location, contact emergency services
Follow direction from the emergency services, keep your hands in sight, and stay aware of developments via official sites.

I immediately checked the mass shooting tracking site, and it was already updated with one fatality reported on this incident.

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Mental Health And Other Reasons:

In 2018, Omar Santa Perez walked into the lobby of the Fifth Third Center and began shooting indiscriminately. Thankfully his gun had jammed but 3 people died before Santa was gunned down by officers.

After the event, news came out that Santa was punching walls, talking to himself, refusing to take medication and frightening his sister and mother in various incidents between 2010 and 2012.

Family members had fought to get him committed to a mental health facility for many years leading to this mass shooting.

The reasons for gun violence are multifold. Think,

1. psychiatric
2. societal
3. political
4. attention seeking
5. media & lack of useful venues to engage themselves.

And so many more reasons once we start to analyze.

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What Is The NRA Upto?

For politicians, to get elected or re-elected, they need $$$. NRA gives that as part of donations to GOP, similar to other industries that give to Dems. Until those $$$ are replaced by another contribution to GOP, they will always remain under pressure from NRA, no matter what. Here is a site that you may already know. Here is another one.

One exciting news is that there is a lot of infighting in the NRA, and it is leading to its downfall. Let’s celebrate.

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Findings from the report on community violence demonstrate that overall, 20% of students witnessed community violence and 3.5% carried a gun. AI/AN, Black, and Hispanic students witnessed more community violence and were more likely to carry a gun compared with their White peers (20).

SOURCE: Harper CR, Li J, Sheats K, et al. Witnessing community violence, gun carrying, and associations with substance use and suicide risk among high school students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021. In: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2021. MMWR Suppl 2023;72(No. Suppl 1):22–8.

Cited Work: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/su/su7201a1.htm?s_cid=su7201a1_w

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The Epidemic Of Mass Murders:

“They hope the public will focus on sensational coverage of their rage-filled “manifestos,” their sinister photos uploaded to social media, their ghastly livestreams. They want notoriety, and they seek justification and credibility for their acts of violence. And in the message that America will never stop these mass shootings, they find such affirmation.

Pro-gun politicians and leaders of the NRA have long blamed mental illness after massacres to distract from the national debate over gun laws.”

~ Author Mark Follman on Mother Jones. Read more HERE on how we can debunk the big politicized myths that stand in our way of curbing mass shootings.

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How Citizens React:

Here are some comments from the internet about the latest shooting in Texas at the Allen Premium mall:

I just moved to Australia this year. I took my skills, my wife’s skills, and my children and left. I’m not going to raise my children in a place where this kind of atrocity is normalized. I don’t know how old you are, but we are in our early 40s. There are plenty of expats all around the world, you…

Hate to say this, but prayers won’t make a difference. People need to react and change the laws. Period. The amount of money involved with gun rights, lobbyists, and PACs, things will never change. It’s not about the 2nd Amendment, that’s the party line, but real reason is greed.

Well, that’s just terrible! You go out for a day of shopping & fun, & you’re killed. We are coming to the point where we must expect the worst wherever there are a lot of people together.

The high rate of gun violence in this country is frightening because it is a daily occurrence now, and the bad guys are using guns to kill innocent people.

Another tragedy that will get a lot of lip service about how senseless it was, but no action. Americans are too much in love with guns to care about the real cost of gun culture. This will never end. The NRA, the politicians in their pockets, rabid gun owners who think that any restrictions placed on gun ownership are an invasion of their personal rights, & the politicians who are afraid of that portion of the voting block.

From a girl who was crouching with a missing face, to the mangled bodied of the victims. If the American public saw the actual reality of the aftermath of such shootings there would be an outrage such as the one during the Vietnam war. Same with the little girl at the Uvalde shooting. The authorities needed a DNA sample from her parents to properly identify her because her head was blown off. We should show those picture of our kids without heads and faces and cut in half with those assault rifles.

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Your Voice Matters:

Anyone who is looking to raise your concerns about the brutal aftermath of gun violence and mass shootings, must reach out their local governance.

We need to raise our voices if we want to see change. We can’t let anymore senseless shooting occur because somebody else lobbied too hard or someone dropped the ball on checking the background of a lunatic.

Here’s a sample letter to the local Senator.

Dear Senator,

I am a concerned citizen who is tired of the nonstop gun violence in America. Before we get brainwashed into thinking it is normal, I want to take action. As we all have understood by now, our thoughts and prayers are not the answer to stop the senseless loss of human lives in schools, colleges, banks, offices, hospitals, casinos, outside casinos, churches, gurudwaras, homes.

Our country has clearly become a laughing stock of the world. We possess 120 guns for every 100 people. Clearly, I would like to call it a gun epidemic in America where 1 million people have been killed from gun violence since 1990. In the last 123 days of 2023, there have been 190 mass shootings as per CBS prime time news on May 3, 2023.

Immediately, I would like you to bring to the Senate floor a bill to ban AR-15’s and AK-47’s. Also, I would request the recently passed bill to carry concealed weapons in Georgia to be revoked. Lastly, each and every gun purchase has to be registered after a thorough background check.

Four religions emanating from India Hinduism, Jainism, Sikkhism, and Buddhism believe strongly in Ahimsa, the principle of not causing harm to any living being. Our country is turning into the antithesis of this principle by encouraging the indiscriminate purchase, carrying, and use of weapons of war in all of our communities. Time for immediate action has arrived.

Sincerely,
Rachana

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How Things Are:

Let’s talk about all the things that we can understand and do.

We know that guns kill people, and guns especially in the hands of who have low emotional stability and poor mental health. Large amount of violence rises from deep frustration, revenge mentality and chronic loneliness. Guns have killed 1 million of us since 1990.

Rural communities might be homes to people who feel marginalized. The point of ‘self-protection’ living in remote areas has been one of the top arguments by lobbyists in Washington – and the main reason why US cannot ban firearms.

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How Things Can Be:

Here are some things we can do:

1. For current and future owners, register each gun
2. For current and future owners, register each gun owner
3. Strict background check
4. Review licensed gun holders mental & social history annually.
5. Ban assault rifles like AR-15, AK-47
6. Gun owners can be mandated to check in with their local police precinct for periodic gun inspections.
7. Vote on Gun Single Issue
8. Campaign for a gift card exchange program for civilian gun surrender.

“Single Issue” Voters in the past have championed pro 2nd amendment and anti-abortion efforts to further their causes. If we can all vow to make sensible gun legislation our “single issue” that determines their vote, politicians in certain areas will be forced to act.

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Sign Petitions Like These:

https://www.change.org/p/federally-ban-assault-weapons-educators-school-clinicians-school-staff-parents-unite?signed=true

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Legislation That Is Currently Underway:

Texas House Advances Bill to Raise Age to Buy Assault Weapons:
Find it HERE.

A Texas lawmaker has proposed a bill to ensure that children as young as eight-years-old receive annual training to man bleeding control stations.
Find it HERE.

WA bans sale of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles, effective immediately. The measure signed by Inslee, House Bill 1240, bans the sale, transfer, distribution, manufacture and importation of 62 gun models the law defines as “assault weapons,” including AR-15s, AK-47s and similar rifles.
Find it HERE.

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Save Our Children:

Its better our children get an idea of the evil that is out there in the world. Of course whenever it is age appropriate, the discussion has to be brought up. Life is not just a Disney movie with no blood and not even a minute amount of unpleasantness. That kind of stuff is completely out of touch with reality.

“Secure firearm storage is an important part of keeping your family safe. Firearms are now the leading cause of death among children in the United States. That’s why it’s more important than ever for parents and caregivers to know how secure firearm storage works. It’s simple. To help keep your family safe and prevent tragedies, it’s crucial to secure your firearm.”

Find out more on the Be SMART Campaign that was launched to promote responsible gun ownership in order to reduce child gun deaths. Find it HERE.

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Other Community Resources:

Resource for Gun violence and crime incidents collected/validated from 7,500 sources daily. Find it HERE.

The Hindu American Foundation, HAF, has a policy brief regarding gun violence. Find it HERE.

Run, Hide Or Fight – A Sad Ad By The FBI: Find it HERE.

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What Are Our Choices?

Research says that 70% of Americans want serious measures to curb gun violence. But the matter of gun ownership doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach. Why can’t we think about promoting guns that allow self-protection but not powerful enough to kill enmasse. Why does anyone need military style assault weapons, unless of course you are in the military and on ground to protect the nation.

There’s another persistent argument. But, criminals don’t follow laws, so why bother work on gun control legislation? Think about it, if that was the case, we would have no meaning for any other law and order regulations that we have for a civil society.

Another useful argument to convince people who want gun safety but uphold the right to bear arms is to look to the example of other nations that have high gun ownership but low gun violence. The difference, as the article shows, is much stricter gun regulation without talking about removing the right to firearms.

In the end, there is hope. Think about how the tobacco business controlled us up until the 1990s. To control them with numerous more taxes, rules, and laws, as well as to provide them with alternative business-related financial possibilities (smokeless, electric, etc.), it likely took the backing of many powerful individuals, politicians, and wealthy people. In other words, it was done in order to simultaneously entice “consumers” to move away from it.

Here’s the bottom line. If we don’t reach a consensus, we all know who will have the last laugh. Gun makers, lobbyists and gun lovers. Until then, our children and we will continue to pay the price for rampant gun violence.

We don’t need thoughts and prayers. We need some serious gun safety laws right now.

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America’s Nonfatal Firearm Injury Crisis | Unheard:

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Ahimsa – The Principle Of Non Violence

Gun Safety Laws To Curb Mass Shootings

“We can choose to be hopeful, try and possibly fail or not be hopeful, give up and definitely fail.”
— David Hogg, cofounder and board member at March For Our Lives

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