Vote Out Politicians Who Ignore Gun Violence

Leonda Kessinger Shroyer, Letter to the Editor, 06/15/2022

Editor,

When will enough be enough? How many more schools, synagogues, churches, stores, nightclubs, stadiums or other public places must become killing fields before the American people will demand action from their politicians?

How many more school buildings will be torn down because they were scenes of too gruesome gun violence to ever be used for our children’s daily education again?

What will it take for voters to hold this country’s elected officials more accountable to their constituents than the lobby dollars of the NRA?

The United States recorded its most annual gun deaths–ever–in 2020: more than 45,000. As difficult as it is, we must keep ourselves from becoming numb to the ever-increasing numbers, more with every new day. Numbness and apathy will not solve this problem.

The latest CBS News poll reveals that a clear majority of Americans favor a variety of gun restrictions, including universal background checks (81%), a federal "red flag" law (72%), and a nationwide ban on the AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, often used in mass shootings (62%) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gun-violence-disconnect-public-policymakers.

Evidence-based solutions such as tighter licensing laws and comprehensive background checks have wide public support. But over and over, year after year, massacre after massacre, the same elected policymakers refuse to follow the people’s will for common sense safety laws. WE MUST HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. It is very easy to find voting records. It is very easy to determine NRA beneficiaries (at least the above-board donations). And it is very easy to see the connection between NRA donation dollars and votes supporting the gun industry. Stop giving those individuals your vote!

Last week an 11-year-old child covered herself with a classmate’s blood and played dead to avoid being shot on her schoolroom floor by an 18-year-old stranger who days before had legally bought the AR-15 assault rifle and 375 rounds of 5.56-caliber ammunition with which he slaughtered 21 random and innocent people.

Let that image keep you awake at night as you plan your votes for the upcoming elections.

In sincere horror at what we have allowed,

Leonda Kessinger Shroyer

mother, grandmother, teacher, voter