18 Dead, plus the murderer. 13 Wounded. Weapon: AR 15.
565th mass shooting in the U.S. in 2023. (Gun Violence Archive.)
Number of non-suicide gun murders to date in the U.S this year? 15,633. (Gun Violence Archive).
Current State of Affairs:
Permit needed in Maine to carry a gun? Nah.
Assault weapons banned or even limited in that State? Nah.
Public conversation about American gun addiction? Nah.
Conversation about the fact that mass shooting has become a standard, culturally accepted channel to express male grief, despair and fury? Nah.
Hunters and so-called “sportsmen” leading a charge for rational, humane gun control? Nah.
Congress acting to implement basic, reasonable gun control? Nah.
Supreme Court applying twenty-first, rather than eighteenth century, thought and standards to interpret the 2nd Amendment? Nah.
Thoughts and prayers? What, again? I suppose so. What else are we left with?
Stephen King: We Are Out of Things to Say.
Nicholas Kristof: A Smarter Way to Reduce Gun Deaths.
Well, FIGHT! Fight like hell. IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO LET THIS HAPPEN.
6 Organizations You Can Support to Promote Gun Control.