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If the latest firearm assault in Parkland, FL reminds of anything, it is the simple fact that no one in America is safe from gun violence. The situation in our country is just that bad.
In tragedy after tragedy, year after year, we’ve seen that the epidemic of gun violence is not contained to one community or group, but that it touches us all—regardless of geography or race, age or occupation, religion or political party. And when it does, the grief that tears at the heart of a mother in the inner city of New York is the same as that of a brother in rural Iowa and a friend in the suburbs of southern Florida.
Tens of thousands of Americans are lost every year to gun violence—far more than in any other industrial nation. This translates to families destroyed and lives ruined. In one of the most advanced countries in the world, this reality is utterly shameful.
While many in America only see the statistics, communities of faith have the regular and devastating duty of bearing the consequences of the tragedies caused by guns. As an ordained Presbyterian minister who works with clergy across the country, I join others in caring for the families and loved ones of victims of gun violence. My clergy colleagues compose eulogies for young people gunned down, sit with too many grieving parents who have endured the unspeakable tragedy of losing a child, and struggle week after week to find words to address in public worship the deep lament of one senseless tragedy after another.
This work of finding appropriate words of lament as we’ve watched many lawmakers sit idly by is infuriating. We know that so many of these losses are avoidable, if only our political leaders would act with courage and conviction.
In the absence of meaningful Congressional action to stem gun violence, we are continuing our work against gun violence here in New York City. We have done this after Sandy Hook, the lapse of the assault weapons ban, and every time innocent life is taken, and will continue until this epidemic is addressed.
It takes courage to use a political platform to make meaningful change on the issue of gun violence. Fortunately, some leaders have exhibited that bravery.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, for one, has used his platform to push for common sense gun reforms on all levels of government. He has worked to make New York City the safest city in America by building strong bonds between the community and police; by supporting police accountability and transparency through the Civilian Complaint Review Board; by promoting collaboration between the City’s criminal justice agencies, district attorneys, and courts; and by investing in technology that makes our communities safer.
From calling on government pension funds to divest from gun manufacturers, lobbying Washington to crack down on illegal gun dealers, to keeping assault weapons out of the hands of civilians, the City of New York has provided visionary leadership in the movement to end gun violence.
In addition, the Mayor’s office includes a Clergy Advisory Council. Along with the day-to-day support for families and individuals in crisis, we members of the Council work to support, organize, and empower congregations of all faiths throughout the city to take meaningful steps to curb gun violence.
Still, I know from one heartbreaking experience after another that no one Mayor, Pastor, or Task Force will be able to finally stem gun violence in our country once and for all. We need every person in America to roll up their sleeves, add a strident voice to this effort, and get to work on this issue.
How egregious that only select leaders have actively worked to defeat the intransigence of other elected congressional representatives.
Too many of those representatives prefer to pander to special interest groups like the NRA instead of honoring their responsibility to help us build a safer America—one full of all the promise we hope to provide for those who will inherit this great nation after we are gone.
After endless cycles of death, suffering, and public grief—including the latest deaths at the hands of a gunman, just weeks into a new year—our country yearns for life. Our children deserve nothing less.
We cannot abdicate our responsibility to make a safe and nurturing society a reality for all of our children. We must each gather our individual resolve to contact our elected officials across the country to say publicly and boldly that we will not tolerate any more senseless violence. Demand that US Congress reinstate a ban on all assault weapons and make civilian ownership of them illegal.
Death and violence will not prevail. We must, defiantly and persistently, choose life.
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An earlier version of this article was published on HuffPost. Republished with permission.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images