The events in Orlando are the most recent in a long string of maniacal and merciless killings in this country. Enough is enough. I’m beyond the point of accepting that there is “nothing that will stop bad people from getting guns.” It seems as if America is the only country that accepts that notion as a fact and human lives are ending as a result.
These humans had families, lovers and friends. These humans had lives ahead of them. This isn’t an issue of an interpretation of a 200-year-old amendment. This is an issue of dead Americans. The following list catalogs the names of those killed from just six mass shootings in the past 10 years.
Stanley Almodovar III. Amanda Alvear. Oscar A. Aracena-Montero. Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala. Antonio Davon Brown. Darryl Roman Burt II. Angel L. Candelario-Padro. Juan Chevez-Martinez. Luis Daniel Conde. Cory James Connell. Tevin Eugene Crosby. Deonka Deidra Drayton. Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez. Leroy Valentin Fernandez. Mercedez Marisol Flores. Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz. Juan Ramon Guerrero. Paul Terrell Henry. Frank Hernandez. Miguel Angel Honorato. Javier Jorge-Reyes. Jason Benjamin Josaphat. Eddie Jamoldroy Justice. Anthony Luis Laureanodisla. Christopher Andrew Leinonen. Alejandro Barrios Martinez. Brenda Lee Marquez McCool. Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez. Kimberly Morris. Akyra Monet Murray. Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo. Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera. Joel Rayon Paniagua. Jean Carlos Mendez Perez. Enrique L. Rios, Jr. Jean C. Nives Rodriguez. Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz. Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado. Edward Sotomayor Jr. Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan. Shane Evan Tomlinson. Martin Benitez Torres. Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega. Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez. Juan P. Rivera Velazquez. Luis S. Vielma. Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon. Jerald Arthur Wright. Charlotte Bacon. Daniel Barden. Rachel Davino. Olivia Engel. Josephine Gay. Ana M. Marquez-Greene. Dylan Hockley. Dawn Hochsprung. Madeleine F. Hsu. Catherine V. Hubbard. Chase Kowalski. Jesse Lewis. James Mattioli. Grace McDonnell. Anne Marie Murphy. Emilie Parker. Jack Pinto. Noah Pozner. Caroline Previdi. Jessica Rekos. Avielle Richman. Lauren Rousseau. Mary Sherlach. Victoria Soto. Benjamin Wheeler. Allison N. Wyatt. Ross Alameddine. Christopher James Bishop. Brian Bluhm. Ryan Clark. Austin Cloyd. Jocelyne Couture-Nowak. Kevin Granata. Matthew Gwaltney. Caitlin Hammaren. Jeremy Herbstritt. Rachael Elizabeth Hill. Emily Hilscher. Jarrett Lane. Matthew La Porte. Henry Lee. Liviu Librescu. G. V. Loganathan. Partahi Lumbantoruan. Lauren McCain. Daniel O’Neil. Juan Ortiz. Minal Panchal. Daniel Perez Cueva. Erin Nichole Peterson. Michael Pohle Jr. Julia Pryde. Mary Karen Read. Reema Samaha. Waleed Mohamed Shaalan. Leslie Sherman. Maxine Turner. Nicole White. Robert Adams. Isaac Amanios. Bennetta Betbadal. Harry Bowman. Sierra Clayborn. Juan Espinoza. Aurora Godoy. Shannon Johnson. Larry Daniel Kaufman. Damian Meins. Tin Nguyen. Nicholas Thalasinos. Yvette Velasco. Michael Raymond Wetzel. Jonathan Blunk. Alexander J. Boik. Jesse Childress. Gordon Cowden. Jessica Ghawi. John Larimer. Matt McQuinn. Micayla Medek. Veronica Moser-Sullivan. Alex Sullivan. Alexander C. Teves. Rebecca Wingo. Christina-Taylor Green. Dorothy “Dot” Morris. John Roll. Phyllis Schneck. Dorwan Stoddard. Gabriel “Gabe” Zimmerman.
Countless others have been killed in smaller-scale incidents, that all share commercial firearms as the same common denominator. I don’t know what a solution for the problem is. I won’t pretend to know. Right now, I’m not sure if anyone has a precise answer for what exactly we can do to stop this from happening.
However, it’s not the duty of citizens to come up with these answers. It is our duty to elect our legislators and share our concerns with them. It’s time for our representatives to at least begin looking into legislation that would curb even just one death by the hands of a firearm.
Call your congressperson. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis are our senators. If you live in Wake County, David Price is most likely your representative. Give them your opinions, regardless of your partisanship.
Human lives shouldn’t be a political issue, and it is time to stop disregarding gun violence with just thoughts and prayers. It’s time for us to demand action for the sake of our families, friends and innocent brothers and sisters across this nation. I want action because I don’t want my family to be next.
I want action because of Orlando, Sandy Hook, Blacksburg, San Bernadino, Aurora and Tuscon. I want action for the countless others killed by guns every day. I want action because I enjoy recreational shooting, but I value lives even more. I want action, period.
