Those are the words of Matthew McConaughey, a Uvalde native, after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Ulvade, Texas.
He is right. We must do better!
All of us have 24 hours a day which present themselves with plenty of opportunities to choose how to respond and how to act. This includes the smallest of actions like stopping to pet the dog who comes up to you in the morning which has shown health benefits or simply to walk past. It includes more impactful decisions like walking away from a toxic job or sticking with it. It includes the decision to call your representative to come up with better gun laws. You can find your representative and if you need a little help, here is a “How to Call” page to set you up for success.
After all, there are laws and checks and licenses for driving a car even in Texas, so why not for guns?
The reason there are little to no gun laws is because politicians have no incentive to change the current laws. Yes, there is an attempt by the Democratic party to raise the age limit for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. This is a good first step and it is backed up by a Washington Post investigation into school shootings suggesting that the “median age of school shooters is 16”.
Will it work though? Will Republicans agree and pass the law? OR will the GOP block gun laws?
That depends on you and the choices you make and the actions you take. If you call your representative to urge them to implement gun laws, then they will be compelled to take action. This is how democracy works. The people decide what they want and the representative take action upon the people’s wishes. That is why “we the people” need to do our part and make our voices heard – every single day.
We must do better!
We must demand better!
We must demand better gun laws!