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December 26. 2012
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Page 7
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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 :
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M ark W ashington
E d it o r - i n - C h ie f :
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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. OR 97211
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