The Gun Violence Doesn't Stop in America

Conservative pundit Charlie Kirk was shot and killed today in Utah. A lot of information is hazy, and the shooter has not even yet been publicly identified, but the media/internet/etc. has already expressed thoughts and opinions. I honestly did not follow Kirk's work much as I shared none of his viewpoints, and in the random occasional clips I'd see with him--usually debating people--I clearly saw he and I had zero agreement on politics. That said, I have never wished death on someone merely because they differ from me politically. In a sick twist, while Charlie Kirk being murdered was trending, another incident was also in the press with a school shooting in Denver, Colorado--you could be tweeting about the shooting in the Midwest today and literally have to clarify which one you meant.

The gun violence doesn't stop in America.

Gun violence continues whether you're liberal or conservative, an adult or a child, male or female, gay or straight, white or black, cisgender or transgender. Certain demographics clearly are the main M.O. of mass shooters (white dudes), but gun violence isn't just mass shootings. It includes an apparently political assassination, as with Charlie Kirk, all races, all genders, and so forth. If there is a day in America, someone got shot for some reason--often a reason that could have gone without gun violence.

There are those who will cling to the idea that more guns are the solution. Some will say we need a good guy/gal with a gun to stop the bad person with the gun, it is our 2nd amendment right! That said, there may be conservatives who suddenly start thinking we need to limit guns now that violence has impacted the right wing so sharply today. I, however, am not surprised when someone left or right-leaning finds themselves targeted, as there are people who could be considered crazy who identify as a Republican or Democrat. I'm not surprised, but I am saddened. When we start using violence to make our political point, we've truly stopped being a Democracy. If being the person with the most might/violence gets you proven the correct party, that's a problem.

The gun violence doesn't stop in America.

Charlie Kirk was not an elected official. He was someone who used his right of freedom of speech to express opinions--controversial opinions, but ones he had the right to. Just as much as people cling to the 2nd amendment, we need to hold tight to the 1st. Charlie Kirk was killed today by gun violence, and schoolchildren were also injured today. Plenty of other people were shot and killed that were not even mentioned by the news because, unless it's a big name like Charlie Kirk, the shootings have turned into background noise for this nation--as ignored as a fan humming away in the corner of the room. I send my sympathies to the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. I also send my sympathies to the family and friends of the schoolchildren hurt in Denver. My heart goes out to anyone who was impacted by gun violence today, or any day.

I'm not going to say I hope things change, because I quit thinking gun laws would be changed in response to any tragedy long ago. Our nation is stuck in a vicious cycle, one that has no clear end. It brings me great sorrow to say that and know with almost certainty that nothing will change. We can rally, we can petition, we can vote, but through it all, one thing will remain constant.

The gun violence doesn't stop in America.