LETTER: Forget thoughts and prayers; cast vote

To the editor:

“Thoughts and prayers” do not bring people back from the dead. Situations like the massacre of 19 fourth graders and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, has rendered us powerless to do anything else, because we have a government that up until now has failed to act. About 45,000 people are killed by guns each year in the United States. That is the equivalent of Shawano County (population 40,000) and Menominee County (population 5,000) slaughtered by a bullet every year.

Americans overwhelming support new laws to keep us and our children safe. These include requiring background checks on individuals who purchase guns, enacting red flag laws, which temporarily remove firearms from those who are a danger to others, and raising the age to purchase an assault rifle.

Our government has the power to act. In 1994, Congress passed a ban on “semi-automatic assault guns” and for ten years we saw few mass shootings. Congress failed to renew the ban, and gun tragedies have increased ever since. On average, our country now has one mass shooting per day and roughly 110 people killed by gun violence daily.

Following the money leads directly to the National Rifle Association who has become a political tool used by gun manufacturers to increase their bottom line. Politicians have a choice to accept the NRA’s campaign contributions or not. If they don’t, they run the risk of the NRA running campaign ads against them. If they do, they must vow to never pass legislation that decreases gun manufacturers’ profits.

Republicans (and some Democrats) have been bought off by the NRA and have forfeited the lives of innocent American citizens in the process. In their defense, these politicians offer feeble, ineffective notions about mass shootings. They label it a mental health problem, yet have done nothing to fund mental health services. They call for more guns in schools in the hands of teachers to defend themselves and their classrooms, knowing that even trained law enforcement officers fail to protect, as in Uvalde.

While we think and pray for the safety of our children and grandchildren and the success of Congress to finally act, there is something else we can do. We must vote and vote wisely. By voting only for candidates who support protective gun laws, as we the people are demanding, can we look forward to a safer community. Vote like your life depends on it.

Deanna Bisley, Gresham

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