August 21, 2019
Page 9
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O PINION
Guns Lethalize Hatred, Anger, Despair
Speak out,
organize and
vote
by m arian
W right
e Delman
On Aug. 2,
I wrote about
the relentless
scourge of gun
violence and the two children
killed in Gilroy, Calif. and asked:
Why does gun violence remain
a uniquely horrible American
epidemic and why does it go on
and on and on and on? Two days
later a new shooting made na-
tional headlines when an employ-
ee killed two people and injured
a police officer at a Mississippi
Walmart.
Then came El Paso. 22 died.
24 injured. Then came Dayton. 9
died. 27 injured.
In one week 36 people died
and more than 60 were injured
not including the dozens of oth-
ers killed by daily gun violence.
A child or teen is killed by gunfire
every two hours and 34 minutes
in our nation. People of all ages
are killed with guns every 14
minutes.
None of this is normal and
should not continue to be nor-
malized in the United States of
America. In fact it is absurd and
morally intolerable in a purport-
ed democratic nation where our
pledge of allegiance declares lib-
erty and justice for all.
The FBI has opened domes-
tic terror investigations into the
Gilroy and El Paso shootings.
The El Paso shooter’s manifes-
to echoed the same hateful and
racist language permeating our
nation, beginning in the Oval
Office. We must band together to
fight resurging racism and white
supremacy with urgency and per-
sistence at every level and in ev-
ery institution in our national life.
A kindergartener and third
grader have shown us the way
with their words. They created
the slogan behind “Hate Has No
Home Here,” an awareness cam-
paign that began in a Chicago
neighborhood. These children’s
message of love, nonviolence and
insistence that hate has no home
here must spread across our na-
tion and world. I urge families,
neighbors, businesses, congrega-
tions, schools, city halls, commu-
nities and all who oppose hate and
violence to take up this cause. If
you believe everyone in America
should be safe from violence and
hate, then act! Visit HateHasNo-
HomeHere.org to download the
free artwork uplifting this simple
expression of human decency in a
number of languages, and display
it on posters, yard signs, bumper
stickers, buttons and everywhere
you can hang a banner or sign.
Everyone should want and
work to ensure that our children,
grandchildren, friends, neigh-
bors, worshippers, communities,
nation and world are safe from
terror. But making children feel
welcome and valued is hollow
if we cannot protect them from
the guns that make hate uniquely
dangerous in our nation.
Guns lethalize hatred, anger,
domestic disputes, mental ill-
ness and despair. Easy access to
guns—including military-style
weapons that should have no
place in civilian hands—has
made expressions of hate and
violence devastating. The shoot-
er in Dayton had an AR-15-style
assault rifle with 100-round drum
magazines. Police responded and
stopped him in 32 seconds. But it
took only 32 seconds for him to
ALBINA MINISTERIAL ALLIANCE COALITION
FOR JUSTICE AND POLICE REFORM
TO HOST COMMUNITY FORUM ON
POLICE ASSOCIATION CONTRACT
Monday, August 26, 2019
6:00-8:00 PM
Maranatha Church • 4222 NE 12th at Skidmore
• Why is it so difficult to fire officers?
• Why doesn’t Portland’s civilian oversight body have the ability
to investigate use of deadly force or to compel officer testimony?
We want to hear from the community about what you want
to see included in the Collective Bargaining Agreement
between the Portland Police Association (PPA) and the
City. We will pass your ideas on to City Council. The PPA
contract expires on June 30, 2020 and the City is expected to
begin negotiations early this fall. For more information see
albinaministerialcoalition.org or call 503-288-7242.
kill nine people and injure more
than two dozen others. The Gil-
roy and El Paso shooters used
similar semiautomatic weapons.
What a difference moral po-
litical leadership at the highest
levels of government makes. In
New Zealand, less than a week
after the horrific mass shooting
in March 2019 that snuffed out
the lives of 51 people of Mus-
lim faith, Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern proposed a national ban
on all military-style semiauto-
matic weapons and assault rifles,
high-capacity ammunition maga-
zines and parts that allow weap-
ons to be modified into semiau-
tomatic guns and a government
funded buyback of existing as-
sault weapons. Within weeks,
New Zealand’s Parliament enact-
ed her proposed assault weapons
ban.
Between 1994 and 2004 our
federal government banned civil-
ian ownership of semiautomatic
assault weapons and large-capac-
ity ammunition magazines. In the
fifteen years since this ban ex-
pired, most members of Congress
have refused to renew this urgent-
ly needed ban or pass any other
common-sense gun legislation.
So here we are again with a rash
of tragedies and a groundswell
of voices demanding Congress
and governors do something right
now. What will it take to end the
indifference to the lives and safe-
ty of our children?
Please speak out, organize
and vote to save child lives and
do not stop until all our children
are safe. The House of Repre-
sentatives has passed several
measures to keep guns out of the
hands of those who might harm
children and communities but
the Senate has refused to act on
these measures. Demand Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McCon-
nell end the slaughter of children
in Kentucky and throughout the
nation and urge him to recon-
vene the Senate immediately to
pass effective gun violence pre-
vention legislation.
All of us must disarm hate
and violence in America. We
must drown out voices of hate
and White supremacy with love
and action and end our national
gun violence epidemic. We don’t
have another moment—or life—
to waste.
Marian Wright Edelman is
founder and president emerita of
the Children’s Defense Fund.