(ThyBlackMan.com) God’s law is crystal clear when it demands “Thou shalt not kill.” The laws of man also declare the same. For this reason, murder – the taking of a human life through violence – carries extremely severe consequences and punishments within civilized societies. Since these things are true, how are the events of this past Monday still possible in America?
On Monday, there was yet another mass shooting in the U.S. The location this time was the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. – a heavily secured military complex. After a hail of bullets burst forth, 13 people (including the gunman, Aaron Alexis) were dead and 8 people were wounded/injured. This tragedy is already one of the worst mass shootings to ever occur at an American military facility; and also one of the deadliest events in the history of Washington, D.C.
Today, my Ministerial duties required me to attend a funeral. As I offered
words of comfort to members of the grieving family, I was reminded that in the next few days, there will be 13 similar gatherings. There will be 13 more homecoming ceremonies. 13 more sets of mourning family members and friends. There is, however, a difference. 12 men and women were murdered in our nation’s capital by a single, mentally ill gunman whose motives remain unknown. When going to work is now considered being in the wrong place at the wrong time, things are very, very wrong here in the United States of America.
Consider the words of Dr. Janis Orlowski, the chief medical officer/chief operating officer for MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Dr. Orlowski treated three victims of Monday’s DC Navy Yard shooting who were transported to the hospital where she works. Shortly thereafter, she felt compelled to say this at a televised press conference: “There’s something evil in our society that we as Americans have to work to try and eradicate.
We’ve got to figure this out. We’ve got to be able to help each other. We’re dealing right now with three innocent people. But my prayers and my thoughts go out to those people who have died as a result of today. And, you know, their families and what they’re going to have to go through.” She also added: “I would like you to put my trauma center out of business. I would like to not be an expert on gunshots. Let’s get rid of this. This is not America. This is not Washington D.C. This is not good.”
Dr. Orlowski spoke truthfully, candidly, and fearlessly. The good doctor recognizes that she and you and I all live in a country where the blood of innocents falls upon our streets like red rain. D.C. is a red state thanks to yesterday’s mass shooting. Colorado is a red state thanks to events like the mass shooting last July at a movie theater in Aurora. Connecticut is a red state thanks to events like the mass shooting last December at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. Virginia is a red state thanks to the mass shooting in 2009 at Virginia Tech. Illinois is a red state thanks to the ongoing mass shootings in Chicago. And so on.
If only our Senators, Congress members, and Governors – those who could write and pass into law meaningful gun safety legislation – displayed Dr. Orlowski’s courage. Far too many of them defend the gun lobby-powered status quo. Therefore, I will call them out for what they are: cowards, obstructionists, and death merchants. Sirs and madams, Democrats and Republicans – your hands are stained with the red rain symptomatic of your inability and refusal to do that which is right. You are leaders in name only. Guns bring a screeching halt to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Meanwhile, that deafening silence you hear from the GOP and the NRA right now is them waiting for the news cycle to move on to something else. They cannot even bring themselves to offer genuine words of condolence to the families of those slaughtered on Monday. Wayne LaPierre – NRA spokesman and Executive VP – infamously said in the aftermath of Newtown that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Well, there were literally thousands of guns at the D.C. Navy Yard, but lives were still lost. Mr. LaPierre’s logic is revealed to be as flawed as his beliefs.
The U.S. Constitution was written in accordance with the Bible. Thou shalt not kill. If Congresswoman Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) being shot in the head point-blank in 2011 didn’t move the NRA and GOP to act, what will? This past January, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) asked: “How many people have to die before we do something?” Apparently 11,000 American gun deaths a year isn’t enough. At least, not yet. So more red rain must fall.
Staff Writer; Arthur L. Jones, III
This talented brother is a local Minister, weekly featured Democratic Op-Ed columnist, non-profit advisor, and sees the Braves winning it all this fall. Rev. Jones welcomes your comments! Please email him directly at: tcdppress@gmail.com.