Yesterday, the unthinkable happened again – this has to end!

Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence Statement on gun violence and the Texas shooting

What will you do to stop gun violence?

Our society has normalized guns and violence in our country – and our children are paying the ultimate price with their lives. We have choices: continue to forget about the victims and survivors within a short period of time or hold the people responsible for inaction accountable for believing their occupations and their power is more important than our families.

If you are like so many of us, you are shedding tears for the children and teachers in Texas who were killed yesterday. Every time this type of shooting happens, we think this time, there will be a difference.

We have been watching mass shootings for over 30 years and it is clear that gun violence is a problem for each of us. We need to act NOW. Not after it happens in our community to our loved ones. Now.

What should each of us be willing to do to stop the senseless loss of life and sorrow? We must start by changing our culture to one of respect and non-violence while we work for policies to change the easy access to guns that prevails today. No one policy will fix this. Many of them will help.

It is what we each do that will change the world we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. It means acting and speaking up against violence in all its forms. It means taking responsibility for everyone’s family.

We cannot accept the good guy/bad guy rhetoric that the gun lobby promotes. We never know when or where fear and anger will take over and a good guy with a gun becomes irrational – and lives are lost to gun violence.

We all know people we are concerned about that should not possess a firearm. We also know of others that should not be able to carry a hidden gun in public places. And yet, our legislators continue to act in their own interest rather than ours when they vote for gun laws that are more permissive than protective.

Ask anyone who has known a victim of gun violence and they will tell you the pain and injustice is forever.

What will each of us do to stop this pain?  Speak up? Ask our neighbors and families to speak up? Will we stop giving people permission to own and carry guns, or will we explain the risks?

Will we stop plans to allow staff to carry guns into our schools? How will our children know which adult means to harm them?  How will our children grow up with any sense of peace when they have routine drills in case a shooter comes into their schools?

It would be easier to blame the one shooter and pretend that it is not a systemic problem, but we continue to be naïve if we don’t face the culture of fear and violence and say no to the weapons that complete it.  

Will we say no to the easy access of guns? 

What kind of culture are we accepting?

Some of us have had enough!!! Have you?

We will keep each of the victims in our thoughts and prayers in memory, but to honor them we must act.

Don’t be quiet, tell everyone you have the right to be free from gun violence.    

 OCAGV Board of Directors