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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 2012)
(The December 26. 2012 ^ o rtía n h (Obserucr Page 7 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. No Business as Usual with Gun Violence is almost too much to bear. "These neighborhoods are our neighborhoods and these chil dren are our children," President Barack Obama aptly put it. "We're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more trag edies like this." A weight of responsibility also falls on our shoulders. Im mediately after one of these mass killings, someone always says it's too soon to talk about sen sible gun control measures. We must take time to grieve first. But after we're done flying flags at half-staff and holding tearful memorial services, we invari ably go back to business as usual. I say, not this time. As a father, a former mayor, and a life-long advocate of a safe and quality education for Turning our tears into action by M arc M orial A movie theater in Aurora, Colo., a Sikh Temple in Wis consin, a shopping mall in Oregon, a political event outside a super market in Tucson, Ariz., the streets of big cities like Chicago, and now an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. When will the madness stop? When will we take "meaning ful action" to end gun violence in America? The latest high-pro file mass shootings have taken the lives of too many innocent victims. And when those victims are small school children and their teachers, the weight of grief every child, I too am in mourn ing. But at the same time, I call on our leaders in Washington and in states across this nation, to take immediate action to pro tect our children and prevent the kind of senseless carnage we saw last week. Even before this latest trag edy, for years, the National Ur ban League, which I lead, was a longstanding proponent of sen sible gun control. In fact, on the day after the recent presidential election, I sent a letter to Presi dent Obama and the leaders in the House of Representatives in which I said: "The scourge of gun violence cries out for a com prehensive approach to com mu nity safety and crime reduction. This requires stronger enforce ment of existing gun laws and re-enactm ent o f the assault weapons ban." W e've asked O bam a and Congress to make this a top priority for the next four years. Gun violence has often been associated with poor, urban neighborhoods, and it is true that urban violence is much too prevalent. But most of these mass shootings have occurred in quiet, suburban towns where crime is typically low and gun ownership is high. Gun violence can happen anywhere and to anyone. The one common de nominator is easy access to guns. * Inanationof312million,there are 270 million privately held firearms. It's no coincidence that America has the highest gun- related murder rate of any de veloped country. And it's not just criminal gun violence. There are a substantial number of gun-re lated suicides and accidental deaths. Just last week, a 3-year-old Oklahoma boy found a gun in a relative's home, shot himself in the head, and died. Clearly, fewer guns in America and none in the wrong hands must be part of the solution. We are pleased that Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has pledged to introduce a gun control bill on the first day of the next Congress that would limit the sale, transfer, and possession of assault weapons, along with high-capac ity magazines. She expects Obama to back this law. We hope so. It's time to turn our tears into action. Marc Morial is the presi dent and chief executive of ficer o f the National Urban League and the former mayor o f New Orleans. A Cry for Help across the Entire Country No more talk, the time to act is now by O rrin H udson The recent m as sacre in N ew tow n, Conn, is a cry for help across our en tire country. President O bam a during a memorial service, said, "I'll use w hatever pow er I have to pre vent the type o f tragedy that occurred... We all need to con tribute in some way, shape or form to the betterm ent o f our nation and com m unities." He was right! Too often now, we are hear ing about such m assacres in different parts in the country. S o m e tim e s , th e y o c c u r at schools, m alls and even w ork places. Som etim es, the shooter is a child, som etim es he or she is an adult. R egardless, we as a na tional com m unity must start pushing the message to "think it out, d o n ’t shoot it out.” The problem is that many o f us think we are separate from others; but we are universally one. We no rm ally realize this w hen a tragedy strikes, but really we should realize this all along. Instead, we are w alking in fear, not w alking in love. We should be w alking in love. We m ust move aw ay from anger and fear tow ards each other. We m ust em brace and pro m ote life lessons, com m unica tion skills, and coping skills. Ihr JJortkini» (Obsi rUer P u b l is h e r : Established 1970 M ark W ashington E d it o r - i n - C h ie f : M ich a el L eig h to n C reative D irector : P aul N e u fe ld t A ssistant to P ubusher , O ffice M anager / C lassifieds : A ssistant P ublisher : We m ust teach to each other how to deal with life challenges, and solve problem s peacefully. We m ust adapt slogans such as "Brain Before Bullets", and as m entioned before, "Think It Out, D on’t Shoot It Out". We m ust do m ore than talk; we m ust act and the time to act is now. Parents, talk to your ch il dren regularly and address their em otional needs. Learn how to identify the signs o f depres sion and mental illness. Be on alert for signs that show m en tal instability, uncontrolled an ger, and even unreasonable ness. If needed, take action to get them the m edical attention they need. Also, take caution with the movies, video gam es, and mu- USPS 959-680 sic that your children are in volved with. G arbage in, gar bage stays! Take caution when buying toy guns and such for your kids. Such activities can stim ulate violent desires and fa n ta sie s in y o u r ch ild re n . Teach them to walk in love. Teachers, pay attention to your students. Don't teach at them , teach to them. Inspire them. Challenge them, but don't discourage them. Don't over whelm them . D on't create un necessary stress for them that they can't handle. A lw ays rem em ber that, in addition to school, students have a life at home. They are people, they are real. Be a friend, be a counselor. Teach them to w alk in love. For members of our commu- nities, embrace each other. Pay attention to each other's needs. Eat meals together, and talk to each other - in person. If there is a problem or disagreement, settle it. And if someone has mental c h a lle n g e s , a s s is t th em . Don't allow problems to go on unsettled. Also, don't be abusive in your speech tow ards each other. W ords cut like knives, and some w ounds never heal. Be effective. Be com passionate. Be the solution. Teach each other to walk in love. This isn't w here it ends, but it is definitely w here it starts. So, let's start here, right here, right now! Orrin "Checkmate" Hudson is an author and motivational speaker. 47 4 7 NE Martin Luther King. Jr. Blvd., Portland. 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