Not One More

I really feel for Richard Martinez. His reaction is what I believe my own would be in his situation: abject grief and anger at the insanity of our gun and violence culture. Watching him break down and cry is almost too much for this father to handle.

CNN

Mr. Martinez lost his son Chris in the UCSB shooting this weekend. Since then, his words of grief and anger have become the face of the reaction to this tragedy.

“I don’t care about your sympathy. I don’t give a s--- that you feel sorry for me,” Richard Martinez said during an extensive interview, his face flushed as tears rolled down. “Get to work and do something. I’ll tell the president the same thing if he calls me. Getting a call from a politician doesn’t impress me.” 

Saying that “we are all to blame” for the death of his 20-year-old son, Martinez urged the public to join him in demanding “immediate action” from members of Congress and President Obama to curb gun violence by passing stricter gun-control laws. 

“Today, I’m going to ask every person I can find to send a postcard to every politician they can think of with three words on it: ‘Not one more,’ ” he said Tuesday. “People are looking for something to do. I’m asking people to stand up for something. Enough is enough.”

This father shouldn't have to be mourning his son. In a sane world, he wouldn't be.

We have to do something about these all-too-common mass murders. It's not just about banning guns or improving mental health services. It's about changing a culture that accepts violent weapons and gun violence as necessary components of a "free society." We have to make people, and especially children, understand that violence is wrong and weapons are not glamorous. We have to change the overwhelming cultural acceptance of violence as something that is routine and normal, instead of insane and rare. It means we have to reduce the influence of guns, of violent media, of "tough guy" machismo parenting and child rearing. We have to teach peaceful resolution of conflicts, and help young men and women understand that violence gets you nowhere. We have to withdraw media attention from the shooters, and turn it on people like Richard, and on the memories of those who unfairly lost their lives.

I remember the day of the Sandy Hook shootings, less than a month after the birth of Julian, of the very real fear and anger I felt while watching the news that innocent children had been gunned down. Feeling so sad for their parents and almost in tears thinking about if I was in their shoes. Feeling that it was unfair that one day, I will have to worry about Julian and Evelyn when they are at school, not because they are struggling with a test or having a hard time making new friends, but because they might not make it home that day. Feeling shaken and angry that our nation appears to feel the need for action, but then just shrugs and moves on. No parent should have to experience what Richard Martinez is going through. No parent should have to get a phone call from a grade school telling them their kindergartner has been shot to death. No new parent should have to watch the unfolding news of 20 dead children and fear for their child's future. Something needs to change.

What Our Gun Culture Reaps

A man was shot and killed in Florida.

Sounds pretty familiar, huh?

This time, it was in a movie theater. Chad Oulsen was texting his young daughter, who was at home, during the previews. Curtis Reeves, a retired police officer, was sitting behind him and asked him to stop texting. When Oulsen didn't comply, and theater employees didn't do anything, Oulsen and Reeves began a shouting match.

It ended with Reeves shooting and killing Oulsen.

Over a text message.

This is what the gun culture looks like.

This is what our nation looks like when we decide that the unchecked gun ownership and use is more important that public safety and human life. A small minority has decided that any restrictions of guns is tantamount to the ultimate sacrilege, and refuses to allow the majority impose sensible rules on such dangerous weapons.

Which is funny, considering many of those same people pride this country on being a "Christian nation." Apparently, they missed that little part about turning the other cheek.

Or "Blessed are the peacemakers," and "Blessed are the meek."

Or beating our swords into plowshares.

A nation predicated on guns and the violence they bring is not a Christian nation.

Nothing will come of this shooting. No public policy, no change in culture, probably not even a civil debate. 

Is this the kind of world we want to live in? One ruled by vigilante justice and angry outbursts of gunfire? Where disputes are settled by shootouts instead of dialogue?

Jesus called us to love one another, to be humble, to put away our pride and anger. A country with more guns than citizens, that has more regard for firearms than the poor, oppressed, and hungry, can never be a Christian nation.