Column: Demand better gun safety regulations

Tuesday brought the horrific news of yet another mass shooting in our nation. This one at an elementary school in Texas. One that follows quickly on the heels of the massacre that occurred in Buffalo, N.Y., while people were simply out grocery shopping.

For nearly 30 years, gun violence has been steadily increasing in our country. It seems that massacres are becoming the “new normal,” and yet that is completely unacceptable. Truly, it is our new reality. But we can never accept it as “normal.”

Some say that the problem is not guns; the problem is social disintegration. But this is completely disingenuous. Every modern nation in the world has social problems similar to ours. Mental health issues, class disparity, alienation, are not unique to the United States. What is unique to the United States is the incredibly easy access that just about anyone who wishes to have a military styled assault weapon, with a few dollars laid down on the table, can have one. That is what makes our country “special.” And once again, we are faced with a massacre. This time of innocent children, and the beautiful people who teach them.

In the midst of the latest massacre, social media seems to be blowing up as one of the questions being asked is: What do the clergy have to say? I, for one, have this to say: It’s not enough to pray for the families of the deceased. It’s not enough to get angry. We need to pick up pen and paper, we need to pick up the telephone, and we need to put pressure on the politicians who continue to stonewall meaningful firearms legislation.

There is no magic solution to this problem. Big money is supporting the insane availability of weapons of mass destruction in much of the country. The U.S. Supreme Court opened the floodgates to this many years ago, when it reasoned that the Second Amendment essentially allows no regulation of any firearm.

This is an election year. Vote. Encourage your family and friends to vote. Knock on a few doors and encourage your neighbors to vote. Man a phone bank on behalf of someone you can support. In a country in which usually less than half the electorate participates, it is small wonder that extremists and greedy corporations rule the day.

We the people are the power in this country. And we Christian people, bound by obligations of mutual love and affection, compassion and concern for the poor and the vulnerable, are required to be on the front lines anytime life is threatened. Guns threaten lives every day.

So before you go to bed tonight, call your congressmen and congresswomen and your senators. Send a letter to the CEO of the large gun manufacturing companies. Send a letter to the National Rifle Association demanding that it return to its focus on gun safety and hunting, and relinquish the neofascist efforts to turn this country into an armed camp. Demand meaningful gun safety regulation. And then, before you go to bed, it will mean something when you pray for the deceased and their heartbroken families. We can do this.

The Rev. David J. Gierlach is the rector of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Kalihi.