Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:
How can I cope with the senseless violence that is legal in our country
without gun control? One of my closest friends lost a child in the
school shooting here. She was a vibrant, beautiful girl, full of promise.
I stood with my friend for hours waiting to find out and when we were
told she was slain all I could do is look at her blankly and hold out my
arms. We wept for days. And still there is nothing to say except I&'m
sorry. There must be a God but we are not listening to what God is
saying. Surely no God could condone this kind of violence. Why do our
leaders not act?
Grieving
Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:
How can our elected officials, who take millions from the gun lobby, blame
teenagers for being responsible for the violence in our community by not turning
in their peers? It is nuts to say that the people we put in office to ensure our
defense against foreign enemies are not responsible for dealing with domestic
terrorism. I am sick and horrified that no one is talking about the fact that an anti-
Semitic organization claimed the shooter as a member. Why will no one else take
responsibility for what has happened here?
Disgusted With America
Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:
Do you know what it&'s like to stand in a group of parents praying that their child or
grandchild will end up in the ER with gunshot wounds instead of laying dead on
the pavement? What is this country coming to? I want every adult to march on
his or her state capital and to their federal officials offices and demand gun
reform. I want a national strike, a shutdown of the economy, whatever will get the
attention of politicians until they finally act.
Up in Arms (the right kind)
Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:
I&'ve had it with hypocritical politicians who tell us to pray while our
children are being murdered every week. You send a child off to school
and you should not expect your child will come home in a coffin.
America has gone nuts. I&'m tired of politicians who are owned by
special interests and who mumble platitudes while our children are
dying. Why are automatic, semi-automatic, modified to automatic etc
weapons legal for civilians? When the Constitution was written guns
fired one or two shots per minute. What possible reason can there be
for an adult, let a alone a child, to own an automatic, or semi
automatic weapon?
Why? Why? Why?
Dear Jewish Fairy Godmother:
I&'m a responsible gun owner. I believe there are reasons people should
be able to own and shoot guns. But I&'m talking about small handguns
for self-protection or rifles for hunting or target practice. I keep my
guns safely locked in a gun cabinet. I would never allow my children to
have access to them. I think “right to carry” laws are an old west
concept. And I think it is irresponsible not to have background checks,
mental health checks, and maybe several other checks people who
know more than I do can figure out before anyone should be allowed
to handle guns. I don&'t want to see all private gun ownership
outlawed. But I know the time has come to change something.
Responsible Gun Owner
Dear Letter-Writers:
I have only one answer for all of you: VOTE! Vote, vote, vote until you
can elect officials who will actively work to pass laws and to protect us
from people who use violence and weaponry to express their ideas.
Join organizations that support your point of you, whether it&'s Mom&'s
Demand Action, Every Town for Gun Safety, The Coalition to Stop Gun
Violence, and numerous others in your community and around the
country. Write letters and make phone calls to every public official you
can think of (local, state, and federal) to express your point of view.
Do it as often as you possibly can, even daily till you see action. If
there is a public even to demand action, make it a priority to attend.
Follow the lead of the brave young people who are saying no more!
Comfort the grieving as best you can. Talk to your neighbors and
synagogue members. Read the educational material on the gun-
control websites so you can talk cogently about this topic. Answer gun
owners who talk about their constitutional rights with information
about their responsibilities to other citizens. Above all, do not let
acceptance of this horror become the new normal. If we do not act for
change, we are part of the ongoing problem.
Dear Readers: Words cannot express my sorrow and empathy. I feel
like a small part of your community as do so many grieving others. I
hope you can find some peace, if not meaning, in this tragedy. Please
help vote for change so this does not happen anywhere else.