Yet again innocent Americans have come under attack from domestic terrorism, with over fifty young lives lost to acts of a callous, cowardly man.
America’s gun problem is so staggeringly out of control that if it was happening almost anywhere else in the world there’d be international intervention.
There have been 173 mass shooting incidents so far this year which have killed a total of 279 and injured 642 others. There have been almost 1,000 mass shootings since the lives of 27 school children were taken far, far too early at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.
How can the “land of the free” continue to believe it holds the right to call itself that when its’ citizens live in fear of being the next victims of a shooting while going about their everyday lives?
Gun control should not be a political issue, but a societal one – as there is no argument and no defence of the inexplicable murder of hundreds of people each year.
Americans, and the wider world, need to speak up and speak loud about this issue and ensure that it is afforded the time and effort needed to make America a safe place without the fear of gun attacks. Those in power cannot be trusted to act on their own, as many of them have sat idly by and let this situation develop. This needs to change and in the most powerful country in the world this cancer in their society must be eradicated once and for all.
A nation, a community and families will mourn last night’s events and they’ll never be erased from our consciousness.
But there is glimmers of hope within this story full of darkest sadness. Hundreds of people have been queuing up to donate their blood in solidarity with the victims and the LGBTQ community who are not able to donate their blood to help their own. Particularly noteworthy are the groups of Muslims that are donating their blood, during their holy month of Ramadan when they are fasting between sunrise and sundown, to help those in need.
No matter how dire the situation and no matter how devastating these attacks are to our societies and our people, humanity will always win through.
My thoughts are with all of the friends and families whose lives were forever changed last night. I hope, one day, this will need never be said again.