Right now we need more than just “thoughts and prayers”!
How many more “thoughts and prayers” events will happen before we wake up and prevent them?
There have been too many thoughts and prayers events recently!
On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock killed 58 and wounded nearly 500 others in Las Vegas.
Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 people at a small Texas Baptist church. Then he died as the result of three gunshot wounds, including a self-inflicted shot to the head. The dead parishioners from the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs ranged in age from 17 months to 77 years old.
Both gunmen had one thing in common: mental illness.
Paddock was status-driven. He liked to be recognized in the casino environment and also enjoyed being recognized by his family and friends for his money. He had been depressed after losing a significant amount of money in the past two years.
In June of 2012, Devin Patrick Kelley escaped from Peak Behavioral Health Systems in New Mexico, just months after he was accused of abusing his ex-wife and her child. The Air Force had given him a dishonorable conduct discharge but had “forgotten” to let the FBI data base know about his violent conduct with his family. Therefore he was able to purchase a gun.
Both of these events are what I call “thoughts and prayers events”, events that are followed by many people sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their loved ones.
How many of these tragic events will our society endure before we stand up and say “NO MORE”!
I hope we stand as a society today, right now, and demand change!
Hopefully, our society can make the following changes.
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A ban on all assault weapons.
No one who “needs” a gun for personal protection needs an assault weapon.
Perhaps law enforcement everywhere needs to round up and destroy all assault weapons in the US.
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Consider the issues surrounding gun ownership.
We need to consider if guns should be allowed or not in our society. If our society does permit guns, who should have them? Should a mental health exam be required before a gun permit is issued? Would it be possible to require an annual mental health certification to keep a gun permit?
If we do permit guns in our society, we need to strictly enforce gun control laws!
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Taking a person’s words seriously.
Kelley’s mother-in-law attended the church that Kelley opened fire on last Sunday. He had been texting her threats. If only Kelley’s threats had been taken as seriously as possible by law enforcement…
Each one of us needs to really listen to everyone around us and let law enforcement know when we hear things that could turn into danger. And then stay on top of law enforcement to do something about the situation.
If someone had spent even a moment with Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov before he drove a rented truck into innocent New Yorkers, perhaps someone could have alarmed law enforcement and then stayed on top of law enforcement to make certain that Sayfullo was unable to hurt anyone.
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Each one of us needs to demand that our leaders take action TODAY, and we also need to do everything within our power as individuals to prevent violence.
We all need to pray for the victims and their loved ones, and we also need to pray that our leaders take action and prevent any future “thoughts and prayers” events!
We must take action to prevent future tragic violence!
Let the encouraging words in these bobbiejrae posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
The most powerful forces are faith, love, and positive thinking!
Never let others get you down…
No more paper-thin love!
Need a hug?