"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot." Jeremiah 20:9
Whether Einstein coined the phrase or not, I still believe it to be true: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Again this week, I had another entry ready to post—until I heard the sickening news that another teenaged boy with a gun had entered an elementary school killing everyone in his path.
And America yawned—or at least half the US Senate did. Oh, at first they slapped on the platitudes, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you,” followed by “It’s too soon to talk about gun policies,” and ending with the attack on those who are trying to “politicize an unfortunate event in an effort to take away our 2nd Amendment Rights!” And let’s not forget “Guns don’t kill people….”
The leading cause of deaths among children and adolescents in our nation is no longer automobile accidents. Since 2020, “firearm deaths” have become the #1 killer of our children. And yet, as a nation, we do nothing. Why? Because we care more about protecting unfettered access to weapons than we do about our children, plain and simple. If this were not true, we would do something to change the situation, plain and simple.
I grew up before there were seat belts in cars, much less seat belt “laws.” The same goes for car seats, front wheel drive, all-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes, and other safety measures added to cars in the last 60 years. People whined and wailed about their personal freedom being taken away, but now they shut up and buckle up. They did the same about smoking in restaurants, but I don’t miss the days of paying for a meal while breathing in toxic second-hand smoke. I don’t buy the argument that your right to smoke supersedes my right to breathe any more than I believe anyone has the right to terrorize and murder children as an acceptable alternative to gun regulation of any kind.
I doubt the Founding Fathers (for whom bearing “arms” meant a single-shot, muzzle-loading musket) anticipated the advent of semi and fully automatic weapons, high-capacity magazines, or armor-piercing bullets. So there is a lot of room for sensible legislation like comprehensive background checks (which at least 75-90% of American voters favor) or keeping guns out of the hands of mentally impaired persons who pose a danger to others. But, like I said, we care more about our rights than about our children and grandchildren. Even though there are more guns in the US than people or automobiles, we have to defend ourselves.
If my opinion bothers you (which would require you reading this blog, which is not a given) or even angers you—well—I am angry and sad and sick that 19 babies were butchered yesterday. I am very bothered. Jesus told Peter, “If you love me, feed my lambs.” Care for the young and vulnerable among you. And if you made it this far, read the list below—it contains every school and university where a shooting has taken place, beginning with Columbine in 1999. Read the list and pray for everyone involved—as long as you are really praying it is not a platitude! Then let your prayer (or even your anger) spur you into action.
There is no excuse for doing nothing. Let Congress know that, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Columbine High School
Heritage High School
Deming Middle School
Fort Gibson Middle School
Buell Elementary School
Lake Worth Middle School
University of Arkansas.
Junipero Serra High School
Santana High School
Bishop Neumann High School
Pacific Lutheran University
Granite Hills High School
Lew Wallace High School
Martin Luther King, Jr. High School
Appalachian School of Law
Washington High School
Conception Abbey
Benjamin Tasker Middle School
University of Arizona
Lincoln High School
John McDonogh High School
Red Lion Area Junior High School
Case Western Reserve University
Rocori High School
Ballou High School
Randallstown High School
Bowen High School
Red Lake Senior High School
Harlan Community Academy High School
Campbell County High School
Milwee Middle School
Roseburg High School
Pine Middle School
Essex Elementary School
Duquesne University
Platte Canyon Middle School
Weston High School
West Nickel Mines School
Joplin Memorial Middle School
Henry Foss High School
Compton Centennial High School
Virginia Tech
Success Tech Academy
Miami Carol City Senior High School
Hamilton High School
Louisiana Technical College
Mitchell High School
E.O. Green Junior High School
Northern Illinois University
Lakota Middle School
Knoxville Central High School
Willoughby South High School
Henry Ford High School
University of Central Arkansas
Dillard High School
Dunbar High School
Hampton University
Harvard College
Larose-Cut Off Middle School
International Studies Academy
Skyline College
Discovery Middle School
University of Alabama
DeKalb School
Deer Creek Middle School
Ohio State University
Mumford High School
University of Texas
Kelly Elementary School
Marinette High School
Aurora Central High School
Millard South High School
Martinsville West Middle School
Worthing High School
Millard South High School
Highlands Intermediate School
Cape Fear High School
Chardon High School
Episcopal School of Jacksonville
Oikos University
Hamilton High School
Perry Hall High School
Normal Community High School
University of South Alabama
Banner Academy South
University of Southern California
Sandy Hook Elementary School
Apostolic Revival Center Christian School
Taft Union High School
Osborn High School
Stevens Institute of Business and Arts
Hazard Community and Technical College
Chicago State University
Lone Star College-North.
Cesar Chavez High School
Price Middle School
University of Central Florida
New River Community College
Grambling State University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School
Ronald E. McNair Discovery Academy
North Panola High School
Carver High School
Agape Christian Academy
Sparks Middle School
North Carolina A&T State University
Stephenson High School
Brashear High School
West Orange High School
Arapahoe High School
Edison High School
Liberty Technology Magnet High School
Hillhouse High School
Berrendo Middle School
Purdue University
South Carolina State University
Los Angeles Valley College
Charles F. Brush High School
University of Southern California
Georgia Regents University
Academy of Knowledge Preschool
Benjamin Banneker High School
D. H. Conley High School
East English Village Preparatory Academy
Paine College
Georgia Gwinnett College
John F. Kennedy High School
Seattle Pacific University
Reynolds High School
Indiana State University
Albemarle High School
Fern Creek Traditional High School
Langston Hughes High School
Marysville Pilchuck High School
Florida State University
Miami Carol City High School
Rogers State University
Rosemary Anderson High School
Wisconsin Lutheran High School
Frederick High School
Tenaya Middle School
Bethune-Cookman University
Pershing Elementary School
Wayne Community College
J.B. Martin Middle School
Southwestern Classical Academy
Savannah State University
Harrisburg High School
Umpqua Community College
Northern Arizona University
Texas Southern University
Tennessee State University
Winston-Salem State University
Mojave High School
Lawrence Central High School
Franklin High School
Muskegon Heights High School
Independence High School
Madison High School
Antigo High School
University of California-Los Angeles
Jeremiah Burke High School
Alpine High School
Townville Elementary School
Vigor High School
Linden McKinley STEM Academy
June Jordan High School for Equity
Union Middle School
Mueller Park Junior High School
West Liberty-Salem High School
University of Washington
King City High School
North Park Elementary School
North Lake College
Freeman High School
Mattoon High School
Rancho Tehama Elementary School
Aztec High School
Wake Forest University.
Italy High School
NET Charter High School
Marshall County High School
Sal Castro Middle School
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland)
Great Mills High School
Central Michigan University
Huffman High School
Frederick Douglass High School
Forest High School
Highland High School
Dixon High School
Santa Fe High School
Noblesville West Middle School
University of North Carolina Charlotte
STEM School
Highlands Ranch Edgewood High School
Palm Beach Central High School
Providence Career & Technical Academy
Fairley High School (school bus)
Canyon Springs High School
Dennis Intermediate School
Florida International University
Central Elementary School
Cascade Middle School
Davidson High School
Prairie View A & M University
Altascocita High School
Central Academy of Excellence
Cleveland High School
Robert E. Lee High School
Cheyenne South High School
Grambling State University
Blountsville Elementary School
Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)
Prescott High School
College of the Mainland
Wynbrooke Elementary School
UNC Charlotte
Riverview Florida (school bus)S
Second Chance High School
Carman-Ainsworth High School
Williwaw Elementary School
Monroe Clark Middle School
Central Catholic High School
Jeanette High School
Eastern Hills High School
DeAnza High School
Ridgway High School
Reginald F. Lewis High School
Saugus High School
Pleasantville High School
Waukesha South High School
Oshkosh High School
Catholic Academy of New Haven
Bellaire High School
North Crowley High School
McAuliffe Elementary School
South Oak Cliff High School
Texas A&M University-Commerce
Sonora High School
Western Illinois University
Oxford High School
Robb Elementary School
